THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


WANDERINGS   IN   SOUTH  AMERICA 


' '  Tlie  Enipeiur  c»f  all  the  Parrots'' 


WANDERINGS  IN 
SOUTH  AMERICA 


THE  NORTH-WEST  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

AND  THE  ANTILLES, 

IN  THE  YEARS  1812,  1816,  1820,  &  1824 

With  Original  Instructions  for  the  perfect  preservation  of  Birds,  etc. 

for  Cabinets  of  Natural  History 

BY 

CHARLES  ,WATERTON 


Including  a  Memoir  of  the  Author 

BY 

NORMAN  MOORE,  M.D. 


With  Illustrations  and  a  Brief  Introduction 

BY 

CHARLES  LIVINGSTON  BULL 


NEW  YORK 

STURGIS  &  WALTON 
COMPANY 

1909 


Copyright  1909 
By  STURGIS  &  WALTON  COMPANY 


Set  up  and  Electrotyped.     Published  June,  1909 


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idod 


WANDERINGS   IN   SOUTH   AMERICA 


434455 


PEERAGE  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION 

I  offer  this  book  of  Wanderings  with  a  hesitat- 
ing hand.  It  has  little  merit,  and  must  make  its 
way  through  the  world  as  well  as  it  can.  It  will 
receive  many  a  jostle  as  it  goes  along,  and  per- 
haps is  destined  to  add  one  more  to  the  number 
of  slain,  in  the  field  of  modern  criticism.  But  if 
it  fall,  it  may  still,  in  death,  be  useful  to  me ;  for, 
should  some  accidental  rover  take  it  up,  and,  in 
turning  over  its  pages,  imbibe  the  idea  of  going 
out  to  explore  Guiana,  in  order  to  give  the 
world  an  enlarged  description  of  that  noble  coun- 
try, I  shall  say,  ''fortem  ad  fortia  misi,"  and 
demand  the  armour ;  that  is,  I  shall  lay  claim  to 
a  certain  portion  of  the  honours  he  will  receive, 
upon  the  plea,  that  I  was  the  first  mover  of  his 
discoveries ;  for,  as  Ulysses  sent  Achilles  to  Troy, 
so  I  sent  him  to  Guiana.  I  intended  to  have  writ- 
ten much  more  at  length;  but  days,  and  months, 
and  years,  have  passed  away,  and  nothing  has 
been  done.  Thinking  it  very  probable  that  I  shall 
never  have  patience  enough  to  sit  down  and  write 
a  full  account  of  all  I  saw  and  examined  in  those 
remote  wilds,  I  give  up  the  intention  of  doing  so, 
and  send  forth  this  account  of  my  Wanderings, 
just  as  it  was  written  at  the  time. 

If  critics  are  displeased  with  it  in  its  present 
form,  I  beg  to  observe  that  it  is  not  totally  devoid 
of  interest,  and  that  it  contains  something  useful. 
Several  of  the  unfortunate  gentlemen  who  went 


X  PREFACE 

out  to  explore  the  Congo,  were  thankful  for  the 
instructions  they  found  in  it;  and  Sir  Joseph 
Banks,  on  sending  back  the  journal,  said  in  his 
letter,  *'I  return  your  journal,  with  abundant 
thanks  for  the  very  instructive  lesson  you  have 
favoured  us  with  this  morning,  which  far  excelled, 
in  real  utility,  everything  I  have  hitherto  seen.'* 
And  in  another  letter  he  says,  "I  hear  with  par- 
ticular pleasure  your  intention  of  resuming  your 
interesting  travels,  to  which  natural  history  has 
already  been  so  much  indebted."  And  again,  *'I 
am  sorry  you  did  not  deposit  some  part  of  your 
last  harvest  of  birds  in  the  British  Museum,  that 
your  name  might  become  familiar  to  naturalists, 
and  that  your  unrivalled  skill  in  preserving  birds 
be  made  known  to  the  public. ' '  And  again,  * '  You 
certainly  have  talents  to  set  forth  a  book,  which 
will  improve  and  extend  materially  the  bounds  of 
natural  science." 

Sir  Joseph  never  read  the  third  adventure. 
Whilst  I  was  engaged  in  it,  death  robbed  England 
of  one  of  her  most  valuable  subjects,  and  de- 
prived the  Eoyal  Society  of  its  brightest  orna- 
ment. 


CONTENTS 

Preface   to    First    Edition ix 

Contents xi 

List   of    Illustrations xvii 

Introduction     ^ .  xix 

Memoir    < 1 

FIRST  JOURNEY 


CHAPTER  I 

Object  of  the  Wanderings — Demerara  R. — Saba — Toucan — 
Forest  Trees — Parasites — Bush-rope — Red  Monkey — Wild 
animals — Sloths — Venomous  snakes — Lizards — Bell-bird — 
Houtou — Insects — Dog  poisoned  with  Wourali — Falls — Es- 
sequibo  R. — Rapid  decay — Falls  of  the  Essequibo — ^Macou- 
shia — A  white  recluse — The  Watermamma — A  savage  finan- 
cier— The  Jabiru — Ants'  nests — Fort  St.  Joachim — Lake 
Parima    29-73 


CHAPTER  II 

The  Maeoushi  Indians — ^Poison  vendors — apparent  failure  of 
poison — Collecting  materials  for  wourali-poison — Prepar- 
ing the  poison — Superstitions — The  blow-pipe  gun — The 
Ourah — The  Samourah — Silk-grass — ^Acuero  fruit — Cou- 
courite  palm — Wild  cotton — Arrows — Quivers — Jaw  of 
Pirai — Packing  the  arrows — Cotton  basket — Gun  sight 
made  of  Acouri  teeth — Poisoned  fowl — Suspending  the 
guns — 'The  bow — Ingenious  arrows — Small  quivers — A  wild 
hog  shot — Utilization  of  indigenous  products   74-89 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTEE  III 

Operation  of  the  Wourali — Its  effects  on  the  Ai,  or  Three- 
toed  Sloth — Death  resembling  sleep — A  poisoned  Ox — 
Poison  proportionate  to  size  of  animal — Alleged  antidotes 
An  Indian  killed  by  his  own  arrow — Ligatures  and  the 
knife — Descent  of  the  Essequibo — Skill  of  the  boatman — 
The  Buccaneers — Tertian  ague — ^Experiments  with  Wour- 
ali— ^ Value  of  a  ligature — Artificial  respiration — Long  life 
and  quiet  death  of  Wouralia — When  good  King  Arthur 
ruled  this  land— Eeturn  of  health 90-98 

Eemaeks    99-105 


SECOND   JOURNEY 

CHAPTEE  I 

From  Liverpool  to  Pernambuco — Stormy  petrels — Tropical 
zoology — Flying  fish — Bonito,  Albicore,  and  "Dolphin" 
— Frigate  bird — Arrival  at  Pernambuco — The  expelled 
Jesuit — Pombal,  the  Captain-General — Southey's  history  of 
Brazil — Botanical  garden — Sangre  do  Buey — Eattlesnake 
Narrow  escape — Eainy — Sail  for  Cayenne — Shark-catch- 
ing          106-122 

CHAPTEE  II 

Arrival  at  Cayenne — Flamingos — Curlews,  &c. — ^Vegetable  pro- 
ductions of  Cayenne — La  Gabrielle — Cock  of  the  Eock — 
Grand  Gobe-mouche — Surinam — The  Coryntin — New  Am- 
sterdam— Stabroek,  now  George-town — Produce  of  Dem- 
erara — Slavery — A  traveler's  necessaries — Walking  bare- 
foot— The  best  costume — Humming-birds — Cotinga — Cam- 
panero,  or  Bell-bird — Toucans,  or  Toucanets — Beak  of  the 
Toucan — Evanescence  of  the  colours — The  only  mode  of 
preserving  them    123-141 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER  III 

The  Houtou — Curious  habit  of  trimming  the  tail  and  feathers 
— its  habits — The  Guianan  Jay — The  Boelora — Slight  at- 
tachment of  the  feathers — The  Cuia — Eice-birds — Cas- 
siques,  their  habit  of  mockery — Pendulous  nests — Gregari- 
ous nesting  of  different  species — Wood-peckers  of  America 
and  England — Kingfishers — Jacamars  and  their  fly-catch- 
ing habits — Troupiales  and  their  songs — Tangaras — Mani- 
kins— Tiger-birds — Yawaraciri — Ant  Thrushes — Parrot  of 
the  Sun — Aras,  or  Macaws — Bitterns — Egret,  Herons,  etc. 
— Goatsuckers — Whip-poor-Will — Superstitions — Tinamous 
— Powis  and  Maroudi — Horned  Screamer — Trimipeter — 
King  Vulture — Anhinga — ^Dangers  of  travel — Quartan 
ague    142-167 

TEIED  JOURNEY 

CHAPTER  I 

From  the  Clyde  to  Demerara — Yellow  fever — A  deserted  Plan- 
tation— Black  John — Medicines  for  tropical  climates — 
Bats — The  lancet — Severe  accident  and  recovery — A  primi- 
tive spear — History  of  the  Sloth — An  inhabitant  of  the 
trees — Structure  of  the  limbs — A  domesticated  Sloth — A 
life  of  suspense — Structure  of  the  hair — Mark  on  the  back 
— Capture  of  a  Sloth — Release  and  escape — Ants — Ant- 
bears — The  great  Ant-bear — Its  powers  of  defence — Atti- 
tude when  standing — How  it  catches  its  prey — Glutinous 
saliva — The   Vampire   and    its   habits — Bleeding   gratis —  __ 

Coushie  Anta — Armadillo  and  its  habits — Tortoise — Eggs       "       ~~/ 
of  Tortoise  and  Turtle  168-195         -^ 

CHAPTER  II 

The  Vanilla; — ^Meaning  of  the  word — Small  Cayman — Daddy 
Quashi — Wasps — Venomous  reptiles  and  wild  beasts — 
Poison  of  the  Labarri  snake — Experiment  with  a  Labarri 
— The  Bete-rouge — The  Chegoe — Its  nest — Ticks,  and  how 
to  get  rid  of  them — The  five  tribes — Their  habitations  and 
mode  of  life — Piwarri — The  Pee-ay-man — A  nation  with- 


xiv  CONTENTS 

out  a  history — Runaway  negroes — Mr.  Edmonstone  and 
his  services — Wounded  warriors — Valour  rewarded — Edu- 
cation— Character  of  the  native — Skill  in  hunting — A  bead 
almanac — The  sun  as  a  compass — Thinness  of  population. 
196-213 


CHAPTEE  III 

Discovery  of  a  large  Coulacanara  snake — A  Bush-master — 
Stag  swallowed  by  a  Boa — Negroes  and  the  snake — Ar- 
rangements for  the  attack — The  snake  struck — Carrying 
off  the  enemy — A  snake  in  a  bag — An  unquiet  night — Dis- 
section of  the  snake — ^Daddy  Quashi  and  his  dread  of 
snakes — Capture  of  a  Coulacanara — Vultures  and  their 
food — Habits  of  Vultures — The  Aura  Vulture — Black  Vul- 
tures— Severe  blisters — An  inquisitive  Jaguar — Fish  shoot- 
ing— Goatsuckers  and  Campanero 214-231 

CHAPTEE  rv 

Fishing  for  a  Cayman — A  shark-hook  useless — Sting-rays — 
Turtle  and  Guana  nests — Numbers  of  eggs — Another  fail- 
ure— Meeting  a  Jaguar — Guard  against  fever — More  fail- 
urea — A  native  hook  and  way  of  baiting — The  Cayman's 
dinner-bell — Caught  at  last — How  to  secure  the  reptile — 
Mounting  a  Cayman — An  improvised  bridle — Skin  and 
teeth  of  the  Cayman — ^Embarkment  for  England — Collision 
with  the  Custom  House  232-256 


FOURTH  JOURNEY 

CHAPTEE  I 

Three  years  in  England — Sail  for  New  York — Nomenclature 
— Alteration  of  scenery — A  sprained  ankle — ^Magnificent 
cure — Feats  of  climbing — Quebec — Irish  emigrants — Ti- 
eonderoga — Saratoga — ^Philadelphia — White-headed  Eagle 
— Form  and  Fashion — Climatei — Forebodings  of  the  civil 
war — Sail  for  Antigua   257-285 


CONTENTS  XV 

CHAPTEE  II 

Arrival  at  Antigua — Dominica — Frogs  and  Humming-birds — 
Martinico — Diamond  rock — Barbadoes — Quashi  and  Venus 
— The  Alien  Bill — Sail  for  Demerara — More  about  the 
Sloth — Scarlet  Grosbeak — Crab-eating  Owl — Sun-heron — 
Feet  of  the  Tinamou — Vampires  again — The  Karabimiti 
Humming-bird — The  Monkey  tribe — The  Eed  Howler — 
Eoast  monkey — The  Nondescript — Altered  physiognomy — 
Gold  and  silver  mines — Changes  of  Government — Politics 
— India-rubber — An  ingenious  deception 286-314 

ON  PEESEEVING   BIEDS   FOE   CABINETS   OF  NATUEAL 
HISTOEY 

Faults  in  bird-stuffing — Tools  required — Knowledge  of  anat- 
omy— Attitudes  of  birds — Flow  of  the  plumage — How  to 
skin  a  bird — Inserting  cotton — Killing  wounded  birds — 
— Stuffing  a  hawk — The  first  incision — The  skin  to  be 
pushed,  not  pulled — Arrangement  of  wings — Modeling  the 
body — Spreading  the  tail — Constant  attention  required — ■ 
Strength  and  elasticity — Value  of  corrosive  sublimate — 
Experience  and  patience 315-332 

Index    333 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

From  Drawings  by  Charles  Livingston  Bull 
< '  The  Emperor  of  all  the  Parrots" Feontispiece 

Facing  Page 
"The  Peccari   herd   together  and  traverse   the  wilds   in   all 

directions "    34 

The  Cock  of  the  Rock 58 

Macoushia  Indian  with  Blow-pipe 82 

Blackbirds  and  Rattle-snake 120 

The  Egret  124 

The  Flight  of  the  Toucan  138 

The  Cassique  146 

Trumpeter  walking  with  his  Master 160 

The  Sloth  176 

' '  The  Ant-bear  is  a  pacific  animal " 186 

"I  drove  my  fist,  shielded  by  my  hat,  full  in  his  jaws" 222 

'  *  An  immense  Jaguar,  standing  on  the  trimk  of  an  aged  Mora- 
tree"  236 

"I  seized  his  forelegs,  and  twisted  them  on  his  back" 244 

"The   water   foamed,   and   dashed   and   boiled,   amongst   the 

rocks"    248 

The  Song  of  the  Red  Monkey  300 

xvii 


INTRODUCTION 

Many  years  ago,  when  reading  this  book  for 
the  first  time,  my  boyish  imagination  was  so  fired 
that  I  determined  the  first  opportunity  should 
find  me  on  my  way  to  Waterton's  beloved  Deme- 
rara,  and  in  March  of  the  year  1908,  I  sailed  from 
New  York  on  a  journey  in  which  I  covered  most 
of  the  country  which  he  describes  so  well  and  so 
thoroughly.  There  are  but  slight  changes  in  the 
hundred  years  which  have  elapsed  since  he  visited 
South  America.  The  great  exuberant  jungles  are 
just  as  dense  and  unbroken  now  as  then;  there 
are  a  very  few  new  clearings  and  small  settle- 
ments along  the  rivers,  but  some  of  those  of  his 
time  have  disappeared,  and  inland  the  immense 
range  of  forest  still  remains  unbroken.  I  heard 
the  weird  night  song  of  the  red  monkeys,  the  toll- 
ing of  the  bell  bird,  the  coughing  roar  of  the 
jaguar  and  the  many  other  night  sounds  just  as 
he  must  have  heard  them.  The  jungles  are  still 
alive  with  toucans,  parrots,  jacamars,  trogons, 
motmots,  cassiques,  etc.  Every  little  clearing  is 
the  gathering  place  of  great  numbers  of  such 
small  birds  as  the  hummingbirds,  tanagers,  fly- 
catchers, and  cotingas  of  many  varieties  and 
colors.  I  saw  a  few  snakes,  the  camoudi  or  ana- 
conda, the  labarri,  the  bushmaster,  or  couana- 
couchi,  and  a  most  beautiful  bright  green  parrot 
snake. 


XX  INTRODUCTION 

The  lizards  and  iguanas  are  very  plentiful  and 
interesting,  and  the  insects  are  just  as  numerous 
and  attentive  as  they  were  one  hundred  years 
ago.  A  week  after  my  return  to  New  York  I 
happened  to  notice  a  small  swelling  on  the  side 
of  my  foot  and  upon  examination  found  that  it 
was  a  colony  of  chigoes  that  I  had  unwittingly 
smuggled  past  the  Customs  Inspectors.  I  quickly 
evicted  them  after  Waterton's  prescription  and 
was  much  surprised  to  find  that  there  neither 
was  nor  had  been  the  slightest  pain  connected 
with  their  occupation  or  eviction.  The  ants  were 
everywhere  and  tried  to  destroy  everything. 
The  ticks  and  bete-rouge  were  annoying  at  times, 
and  the  scorpions  and  centipedes  were  rather  too 
plentiful,  but  there  were  great  numbers  of  beau- 
tiful and  interesting  insects,  splendid  morphos, 
heliconias,  papilios  and  many  other  butterflies  in 
great  variety  and  most  gorgeous  coloring:  lovely 
great  brown  moths  and  resplendent  jeweled 
beetles  and  dragonflies.  Also  many  curious  and 
remarkable  forms  of  that  little-known  family, 
the  leaf  hoppers.  The  grasshoppers,  locusts, 
cicadas  and  mantises  grow  to  a  great  size  and  are 
most  beautifully  colored  in  greens,  reds,  yellows 
and  browns. 

The  traveler  in  these  immense  forests  may  go 
for  days  and  see  no  animal  life  save  a  few  birds 
and  insects,  for  the  vegetation  is  so  dense  and 
matted  together  with  lianas,  bushropes,  and 
orchid  roots  that  the  cover  is  perfect,  and  the 
largest  animals  can  conceal  themselves  almost 
instantly.  Even  the  great  tapir,  nearly  as  large 
as  a  cow,  can  thread  its  way  noiselessly  through 


INTRODUCTION  xxi 

the  tangled  iindergrowtli  among  the  tree  trunks, 
and  the  jaguar  and  puma  or  cougar  can  disap- 
pear in  a  single  bound.  The  peccaries,  of  which 
there  are  great  herds,  scattered  through  the 
forest  everywhere,  can  silently  steal  away,  or  if 
discovered  go  crashing  and  squealing  among  the 
great  buttressed  roots  and  trunks  of  the  trees. 
I  found  that  the  only  way  to  see  the  more  timid 
beasts  and  birds  was  to  go  well  into  the  jungle, 
sit  down  and  keep  perfectly  still  and  they  would 
come  into  sight.  I  found  a  great  wild  cashew 
tree,  the  fruit  of  which  was  ripe  and  falling  and 
attracting  many  beasts  and  birds,  and  by  taking 
up  a  position  near  its  base  I  saw  many  curious 
little  incidents  of  jungle  life.  I  watched  the  timid 
agoutis,  ever  on  the  lookout  for  danger,  come  with 
short,  jerky  steps  from  under  the  great  fallen 
leaves  which  everywhere  strewed  the  ground. 
At  the  slightest  movement  or  unusual  sound  they 
would  disappear  instantly.  I  was  watching  two 
of  them  one  afternoon  when  hearing  a  slight 
sound  behind  me  I  very  cautiously  turned  my 
head  and  discovered  a  peccary  standing  about 
twenty  feet  away,  watching  me  most  intently.  I 
stared  at  him  for  a  few  moments,  and  then,  re- 
membering that  they  usually  go  in  herds,  I  glanced 
about  beyond  him  and  made  out  another  and  yet 
another,  both  of  them  staring  hard  at  me.  I 
watched  them  for  a  few  minutes,  but  at  last, 
unable  longer  to  bear  the  suspense,  I  moved  a 
little,  and  with  many  squeals  and  grunts,  they 
went  rushing  away,  with  eight  or  ten  others  which 
I  had  not  seen  before.  The  natives  have  no  fear 
of  these  little  black  pigs,  and  say  that  they  never 


xxii  INTRODUCTION 

attack  man,  but  I  found  my  nerves  rather  shaken, 
and  I  was  very  glad  to  see  them  disappear. 

I  found  a  pocket  field  glass  to  be  of  the  greatest 
assistance,  as  with  its  aid  I  was  able  to  identify 
many  birds  and  beasts.  Several  times  I  found 
that  what  seemed  to  be  merely  a  mass  of  greenish 
orchid  roots  was  in  reality  a  sloth,  and  once  when 
examining  through  its  lenses  a  large  thatch-like 
nest  of  termites  high  in  a  tree,  I  noticed  an  ex- 
crescence on  the  nest  and  was  able  to  make  out  a 
tamandua  or  ant-eater,  which  was  making  a  meal 
of  the  insects.  Several  times  I  identified  the 
cunning  little  sacawinki  monkeys  and  marmosets 
watching  me  from  a  tree.  What  a  great  advan- 
tage Waterton  would  have  found  it,  and  likewise, 
how  he  would  have  enjoyed  the  pocket  electric 
flash-light,  that  night  when  the  jaguar  investi- 
gated his  camp.  I  found  it  of  great  value  in 
identifying  bats,  and  night-birds,  as  well  as  in 
finding  which  kinds  of  toads  and  frogs  made  the 
different  notes  of  the  chorus  that  swelled  out 
every  evening  just  at  dusk. 

I  foimd  the  camera  of  comparatively  little  use, 
for  the  sun  was  too  bright  and  the  shade  too 
dense.  The  heat  and  dampness  spoiled  my  films 
and  softened  the  glue  which  held  together  the 
camera,  but  then  I  am  but  an  indiiferent  pho- 
tographer at  best,  and  another  may  well  succeed 
where  I  failed. 

The  scenery  is  rather  monotonous  going  up  the 
Demerara  Eiver,  but  after  crossing  over  to  the 
Essequibo,  it  improves  greatly  and  the  islands, 
rocks,  rapids,  and  the  wooded  hills  are  very  beau- 
tiful— and    the    waterfalls    are   magnificent;  the 


INTRODUCTION  xxiii 

great  Kaieteur  Falls  being  several  times  as  high 
as  our  Niagara,  and  nearly  as  great  an  amount  qf^ 
water  going  over  it.  The  greatest  beauty  of  the 
Guiana  jungles,  however,  is  not  the  scenic  beauty 
of  its  broad  landscapes,  but  the  beauty  of  the 
intimate,  the  little  bits,  that  go  to  make  up  the 
whole  wonderful,  fascinating  jungle;  a  single 
orchid,  for  instance,  growing  high  on  a  branch 
of  a  forest  giant  with  strap-like  leaves  and  lovely 
flowers  and  long  aerial  roots  streaming  down  far 
below ;  or  one  of  the  big  Arums  with  great  heart- 
shaped  velvety  leaves  and  curious  blossoms  called 
tail  flowers.  Every  tree,  plant  and  vine  has  its 
own  beautiful  or  curious  flower,  or  leaf,  or  both, 
and  the  flowers  all  have  their  attendant  bees, 
wasps,  butterflies  or  moths.  The  lovely  jeweled 
hummingbirds  go  from  one  to  another  and  add  to 
the  beauty  of  the  little  group,  while  on  the  twig 
beside  the  flower  is  perched  a  toucan  or  cotinga. 
The  roots  of  the  jungle  trees  are  nearly  always 
buttressed,  great  shoulders  thrust  out  from  the 
trunks,  sometimes  round  and  massive,  but  more 
often  thin  and  flat,  with  edges  hard  and  strong  to 
resist  the  impact  of  falling  trunks  and  branches, 
and  too  narrow  to  afford  lodgement  for  seeds  or 
parasites  which  are  trying  everywhere  to  gain  a 
footing.  On  the  ground  between  these  great 
roots  are  masses  of  dead  leaves,  fruits,  seeds  and 
seed  pods,  of  all  shades  of  reds,  yellows,  and 
browns;  and  the  dead  trunks  and  branches  are 
covered  with  most  beautiful  mosses  and  lichens. 
Everywhere  is  beauty;  everywhere  in  the  light  of 
day  are  most  lovely  little  pictures,  and,  when 
the  shades  of  night  have  fallen,  everywhere  is 


xxiv  INTRODUCTION 

tragedy  and  drama,  for  then  the  killers  walk 
abroad,  and  they  are  many  and  very  hungry. 
The  jaguar  leaves  the  great  branch  whereon  he 
has  slept  away  the  day  in  the  shadow  of  a  mass 
of  foliage.  On  the  ground  he  reminds  one  of  a 
great  spotted  bulldog,  for  his  broad  chest,  mas- 
sive shoulders,  and  thick  bowed  forelegs  give  him 
a  rather  stiff,  heavy  or  ''clumpy"  walk,  but  in 
the  trees  he  is  at  once  the  true  cat,  graceful, 
sinuous  and  blending  in  color  with  the  lights  and 
shadows.  His  sturdy  body  seems  almost  to 
change  its  entire  character;  he  leaps  easily  from 
branch  to  leaning  trunk,  threads  his  way  noise- 
lessly through  a  tangle  of  vines,  creeps  out  upon 
a  big  trunk  overhanging  the  sandbar  and  leaps 
like  a  flash  upon  the  timid  Capybara,  his  favorite 
prey. 

As  he  leisurely  makes  his  meal,  the  great 
Cayman  swims  slowly  up  and  down  just  at  the 
edge  of  the  sandbar,  watching  the  great  cat  with 
cold,  unwinking  eye.  Perhaps  he  is  hoping  the 
jaguar  will  leave  a  part  of  the  game  uneaten. 

Out  in  midstream  lies  a  school  of  the  fish  known 
as  the  Perai,  waiting  for  the  faintest  taint  of 
blood  in  the  water,  for  though  no  larger  than  a 
very  thick,  muscular  black  bass  of  about  four 
pounds '  weight,  they  will  kill  anything  which  falls 
wounded  into  the  water.  Even  the  great  Cayman 
himself,  should  he  be  torn  by  the  claws  of  a  jaguar 
caught  by  a  sudden  rush  as  it  was  drinking,  would 
find  his  armor  plate  of  no  avail,  for  these  wicked 
little  killers  are  in  such  numbers,  and  can  bite  so 
savagely  with  their  powerful  jaws,  that  the  bleed- 
ing scratch  would  instantly  be  greatly  enlarged 


INTRODUCTION  xxv 

and  the  monster  reptile  would  be  literally  eaten 
alive.  On  the  other  hand,  a  small  Cayman  will 
dash  fearlessly  into  a  school  of  these  fish  and 
snap  up  as  many  as  he  can  catch. 

"Who  is  master  of  the  Jungle?"  said  the 
great  snake  in  Kipling's  story,  ''Red  Dog." 
There  is  no  master  of  the  jungle,  for  each  master 
will  find  his  master.  Even  the  wild  bees  in  that 
wonderful  story  are  snapped  up  by  the  fly- 
catchers. 

Far  in  the  forest  a  little  band  of  red  monkeys^ 
are  sitting  high  in  a  giant  palm,  which  spreads 
its  great  fan-leaves  twenty  feet  out  from  the 
trunk.  They  sing  their  weird  song  in  the  moon- 
light, the  most  awe-inspiring  sound  in  all  animate 
nature.  For  twenty  minutes  or  half  an  hour 
their  night-song  swells  out  in  great  pipe-organ 
chords,  then  dies  slowly  away,  and  the  monkeys 
go  roving  over  the  roof  of  the  jungle,  leaping 
from  branch  to  branch  as  they  pass  from  one  tree 
to  another.  Crossing  a  bridging  liana,  the  leader 
suddenly  stops  and  leaps  back,  but  too  late,  for 
the  beautifully  mottled  tree  boa  lying  coiled  on 
the  liana  has  struck.  Quicker  than  the  leap 
of  the  frightened  monkey,  quicker  than  the  stroke 
of  a  jaguar's  paw,  so  quick  that  the  eye  of  man 
could  not  follow  it,  the  snake  has  struck  and  the 
big  monkey  is  snatched  from  midair  and  is  in- 
stantly wrapped  in  the  tight  coils,  with  every  bone 
broken,  every  muscle  crushed  in  one  lightning 
stroke. 

Everywhere  in  the  jungle  is  beauty,  everywhere 
is  love  and  life,  hate  and  death,  feast  and  famine, 
but  it  is  all  most  alluring. 


xxvi  INTRODUCTION 

There  is  a  saying  in  Demerara  that,  ''He  who 
has  once  eaten  of  the  labba  and  drank  of  the  bush 
water  must  come  back  to  the  jungle,"  and  I  feel 
as  Waterton  felt,  that  I,  too,  must  one  day  go 
back. 
—  Charles  Livingston  Bull. 


WANDERINGS   IN   SOUTH  AMERICA 


MEMOIR 

Plutarch,  the  most  famous  biographer  of  an- 
cient times,  is  of  opinion  that  the  uses  of  telling  the 
history  of  the  men  of  past  ages  are  to  teach  wis- 
dom, and  to  show  us  by  their  example  how  best  to 
spend  life.  His  method  is  to  relate  the  history  of 
a  Greek  statesman  or  soldier,  then  the  history  of 
a  Roman  whose  opportunities  of  fame  resembled 
those  of  the  Greek,  and  finally  to  compare  the  two. 
He  points  out  how  in  the  same  straits  the  one 
hero  had  shown  wisdom,  the  other  imprudence; 
and  that  he  who  had  on  one  occasion  fallen  short 
of  greatness  had  on  another  displayed  the  high- 
est degree  of  manly  virtue  or  of  genius.  If  Plu- 
tarch's method  of  teaching  should  ever  be  followed 
by  an  English  biographer,  he  will  surely  place 
side  by  side  and  compare  two  English  naturalists, 
Gilbert  White  and  Charles  Waterton.  White  was 
a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England,  educated 
at  Oxford.  Waterton  was  a  Roman  Catholic 
country  gentleman,  who  received  his  education  in 
a  Jesuit  college.  White  spent  his  life  in  the 
south  of  England,  and  never  travelled.  Waterton 
lived  in  the  north  of  England,  and  spent  more 
than  ten  years  in  the  forests  of  Guiana.  With  all 
these  points  of  difference,  the  two  naturalists 
were  men  of  the  same  kind,  and  whose  lives  both 
teach  the  same  lesson.  They  are  examples  to 
show  that  if  a  man  will  but  look  carefully  round 
1  1 


2        WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

him;  in  the  oountry  his  every-day  walk  may  supply 
him  with  an  enjoyment  costing  nothing,  but  sur- 
pyssed  by  none  which  wealth  can  procure;  with 
food  for  reflection  however  long  he  may  live ;  with 
problems  of  which  it  will  be  an  endless  pleasure  to 
attempt  the  solution;  with  a  spectacle  of  Infinite 
Wisdom  which  will  fill  his  mind  with  awe  and  with 
a  constantly  increasing  assurance  of  Infinite 
Goodness,  which  will  do  much  to  help  him  in  all 
the  trials  of  life.  He  who  lives  in  the  country  and 
has  the  love  of  outdoor  natural  history  in  his 
heart,  will  never  be  lonely  and  never  dull.  Water- 
ton  himself  thought  that  this  love  of  natural  his- 
tory must  be  inborn  and  could  not  be  acquired. 
If  this  be  so,  they  ought  indeed  to  be  thankful  who 
possess  so  happy  a  gift.  Even  if  Waterton's 
opinion  be  not  absolutely  true,  it  is  at  least  certain 
that  the  taste  for  outdoor  observation  can  only  be 
acquired  in  the  field,  and  that  this  acquisition  is 
rarely  made  after  the  period  of  boyhood.  How 
important,  then,  to  excite  the  attention  of  children 
in  the  country  to  the  sights  around  them.  A  few 
will  remain  apathetic,  the  tastes  of  some  will  lie 
in  other  directions,  but  the  time  will  not  be  lost, 
for  some  will  certainly  take  to  natural  history, 
and  will  have  happiness  from  it  throughout  life. 
No  study  is  more  likely  to  confirm  them  in  that 
content  of  which  a  favourite  poet  of  Waterton's 
truly  says : — 

"Content  is  wealth,  the  riches  of  the  mind, 
And  happy  he  who  can  that  treasure  find.** 

Gilbert  White  and  Charles  Waterton  are  pre- 
eminent among  English  naturalists  for  their  com- 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         3 

plete  devotion  to  the  study;  both  excelled  as 
observers,  and  the  writings  of  both  combine  the 
interest  of  exact  outdoor  observation  with  the 
charm  of  good  literature.  Waterton  was  born  on 
June  3rd,  1782,  at  Walton  Hall,  in  the  West  Riding 
of  Yorkshire,  a  place  which  had  for  several  centu- 
ries been  the  seat  of  his  family.  His  father, 
Thomas  Waterton,  was  a  squire,  fond  of  fox-hunt- 
ing, but  with  other  tastes,  well  read  in  literature, 
and  delighting  in  the  observation  of  the  ways  of 
birds  and  beasts.  His  grandfather,  whose  grave 
is  beneath  the  most  northern  of  a  row  of  old  elm 
trees  in  the  park,  was  imprisoned  in  York  on  ac- 
count of  his  known  attachment  to  the  cause  of  the 
Young  Pretender.  As  he  meant  to  join  the  rebel 
forces,  the  imprisonment  probably  saved  his  own 
life  and  prevented  the  ruin  of  the  family.  In  his 
grandson's  old  age,  when  another  white-haired 
Yorkshire  squire  was  dining  at  Walton  Hall,  I 
remember  that  Waterton  and  he  reminded  one 
another  that  their  grandfathers  had  planned  to 
march  together  to  Prince  Charley,  and  that  they 
themselves,  so  differently  are  the  rights  of  kings 
regarded  at  different  ages,  when  schoolboys  to- 
gether, had  gone  a-bird's-nesting  on  a  day,  in 
1793,  set  apart  for  mourning  for  the  decapitation 
of  Louis  XVI.  Waterton  has  himself  told  the 
history  of  his  earlier  ancestors  in  an  autobiogra- 
phy which  he  wrote  in  1837 : — 

*'The  poet  tells  us,  that  the  good  qualities  of 
man  and  of  cattle  descend  to  their  offspring. 
'Fortes  creantur  fortibus  et  bonis.'  If  this  holds 
good,  I  ought  to  be  pretty  well  off,  as  far  as 
breeding  goes;   for,  on  the  father's  side,  I  come 


4        WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

in  a  direct  line  from  Sir  Thomas  More,  through 
my  grandmother;  whilst  by  the  mother's  side  I 
am  akin  to  the  Bedingfelds  of  Oxburgh,  to  the 
Charltons  of  Hazelside,  and  to  the  Swinburnes  of 
Capheaton.  My  family  has  been  at  Walton  Hall 
for  some  centuries.  It  emigrated  into  Yorkshire 
from  Waterton,  in  the  island  of  Axeholme  in  Lin- 
colnshire, where  it  had  been  for  a  very  long  time. 
Indeed,  I  dare  say  I  could  trace  it  up  to  Father 
Adam,  if  my  progenitors  had  only  been  as  careful 
in  preserving  family  records  as  the  Arabs  are  in 
recording  the  pedigree  of  their  horses;  for  I  do 
most  firmly  believe  that  we  are  all  descended  from 
Adam  and  his  wife  Eve,  notwithstanding  what 
certain  self-sufficient  philosophers  may  have  ad- 
vanced to  the  contrary.  Old  Matt  Prior  had  prob- 
ably an  opportunity  of  laying  his  hands  on  family 
papers  of  the  same  purport  as  those  which  I  have 
not  been  able  to  find;  for  he  positively  informs 
us  that  Adam  and  Eve  were  his  ancestors : — 

'Gentlemen,  here,  by  yo\ir  leave, 

Lie  the  bones  of  Matthew  Prior, 
A  son  of  Adam  and  of  Eve: 

Can  Bourbon  or  Nassau  go  higher?* 

Depend  upon  it,  the  man  under  Afric's  burning 
zone,  and  he  from  the  frozen  regions  of  the  North, 
have  both  come  from  the  same  stem.  Their  dif- 
ference in  colour  and  in  feature  may  be  traced  to 
this:  viz.,  that  the  first  has  had  too  much,  and 
the  second  too  little,  sun. 

*'In  remote  times,  some  of  my  ancestors  were 
sufficiently  notorious  to  have  had  their  names 
handed  down  to  posterity.  They  fought  at  Cressy, 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         5 

and  at  Agincourt,  and  at  Marston  Moor.  Sir 
Robert  Waterton  was  Governor  of  Pontefract 
Castle,  and  had  charge  of  King  Richard  II.  Sir 
Hugh  Waterton  was  executor  to  his  Sovereign's 
will,  and  guardian  to  his  daughters.  Another 
ancestor  was  sent  into  France  by  the  King,  with 
orders  to  contract  a  royal  marriage.  He  was 
allowed  thirteen  shillings  a  day  for  his  trouble 
and  travelling  expenses.  Another  was  Lord  Chan- 
cellor of  England,  and  preferred  to  lose  his  head 
rather  than  sacrifice  his  conscience." 

Waterton 's  childhood  was  spent  at  Walton  Hall, 
and  in  his  old  age  he  used  sometimes  to  recall  the 
songs  of  his  nurses.  "One  of  them,"  he  said, 
*'is  the  only  poem  in  which  the  owl  is  pitied.  She 
sang  it  to  the  tune  of  'Cease,  rude  Boreas,  bluster- 
ing railer, '  and  the  words  are  affecting :  — 

*Onee  I  was  a  monarch's  daughter. 
And  sat  on  a  lady's  knee;  » 

■But  am  now  a  nightly  rover, 
Banished  to  the  ivy  tree. 

'Crying,  Hoo,  hoo,  hoo,  hoo,  hoo,  hoo, 

Hoo,  hoo,  my  feet  are  cold! 
Pity  me,  for  here  you  see  me 
Persecuted,  poor,  and  old.'  " 

He  was  already  proficient  in  bird's-nesting 
when,  in  1792,  he  was  sent  to  a  school  kept  by  a 
Roman  Catholic  priest,  the  Reverend  Arthur  Sto- 
rey, at  Tudhoe,  then  a  small  village,  five  miles 
from  Durham.  Three  years  before  his  death  he 
wrote  an  account  of  his  school  days,  which  is 
printed  in  the  Life  prefixed  to  Messrs,  Warne's 
edition  of  his  ''Natural  History  Essays."     The 


6         WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

honourable  character  of  the  schoolmaster,  and 
the  simple,  adventurous  disposition  of  his  pupil, 
are  vividly  depicted  in  this  account.  The  follow- 
ing quotations  from  it  show  that  preparatory 
schools  were  less  luxurious  in  the  last  century 
than  they  commonly  are  at  the  present  day: — 

"But  now  let  me  enter  into  the  minutiae  of  Tud- 
hoe  School.  Mr.  Storey  had  two  wigs,  one  of 
which  was  of  a  flaxen  colour,  without  powder,  and 
had  only  one  lower  row  of  curls.  The  other  had 
two  rows,  and  was  exceedingly  well  powdered. 
AVhen  he  appeared  in  the  schoolroom  with  this 
last  wig  on,  I  knew  that  I  was  safe  from  the  birch, 
as  he  invariably  went  to  Durham  and  spent  the 
day  there.  But  when  I  saw  that  he  had  his  flaxen 
wig  on,  my  countenance  fell.  He  was  in  the 
schoolroom  all  day,  and  I  was  too  often  placed  in 
a  very  uncomfortable  position  at  nightfall.  But 
sometimes  I  had  to  come  in  contact  with  the  birch- 
rod  for  various  frolics  independent  of  school  eru- 
dition. I  once  smarted  severely  for  an  act  of 
kindness.  We  had  a  boy  named  Bryan  Salvin, 
from  Croxdale  Hall.  He  was  a  dull,  sluggish,  and 
unwieldy  lad,  quite  incapable  of  climbing  exer- 
tions. Being  dissatisfied  with  the  regulations  of 
the  establishment,  he  came  to  me  one  Palm  Sun- 
day, and  entreated  me  to  get  into  the  schoolroom 
through  the  window,  and  write  a  letter  of  com- 
plaint to  his  sister  Eliza  in  York.  I  did  so,  having 
insinuated  myself  with  vast  exertion  through  the 
iron  stanchions  which  secured  the  window;  ^sed 
revocare  gradum.'  Whilst  I  was  thrusting  might 
and  main  through  the  stanchions,  on  my  way  out 
— suddenly,  oh,  horrible !  the  schoolroom  door  flew 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA        7 

open,  and  on  the  threshold  stood  the  Keverend 
Mr.  Storey — a  fiery,  frightful,  formidable  spectre! 
To  my  horror  and  confusion  I  drove  my  foot  quite 
through  a  pane  of  glass,  and  there  I  stuck,  im- 
paled and  imprisoned,  but  luckily  not  injured  by 
the  broken  glass.  Whilst  I  was  thus  in  unex- 
pected captivity,  he  cried  out,  in  an  angry  voice, 
*So  you  are  there,  Master  Charles,  are  youT  He 
got  assistance,  and  they  pulled  me  back  by  main 
force.  But  as  this  was  Palm  Sunday  my  exe- 
cution was  obligingly  deferred  until  Monday 
morning. 

''But  let  us  return  to  Tudhoe.  In  my  time  it 
was  a  peaceful,  healthy  farming  village,  and 
abounded  in  local  curiosities.  Just  on  the  king's 
highway,  betwixt  Durham  and  Bishop- Auckland, 
and  one  field  from  the  school,  there  stood  a  public- 
house  called  the  'White  Horse,'  and  kept  by  a 
man  of  the  name  of  Charlton.  He  had  a  real 
gaunt  English  mastiff,  half-starved  for  want  of 
food,  and  so  ferocious  that  nobody  but  himself 
dared  to  approach  it.  This  publican  had  also  a 
mare,  surprising  in  her  progeny;  she  had  three 
foals,  in  three  successive  years,  not  one  of  which 
had  the  least  appearance  of  a  tail. 

"One  of  Mr.  Storey's  powdered  wigs  was  of  so 
tempting  an  aspect,  on  the  shelf  where  it  was  laid 
up  in  ordinary,  that  the  cat  actually  kittened  in 
it.  I  saw  her  and  her  little  ones  all  together  in 
the  warm  wig.  He  also  kept  a  little  white  and 
black  bitch,  apparently  of  King  Charles's  breed. 
One  evening,  as  we  scholars  were  returning  from 
a  walk,  Chloe  started  a  hare,  which  we  surrounded 
and   captured,  and  carried  in  triumph  to  oily 


8        WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

Mrs.  Atkinson,  who  begged  us  a  play-day  for  our 
success. 

''On  Easter  Sunday  Mr.  Storey  always  treated 
us  to  'Pasche  eggs.'  They  were  boiled  hard  in  a 
concoction  of  whin-flowers,  which  rendered  them 
beautifully  purple.  We  used  them  for  warlike 
purposes,  by  holding  them  betwixt  our  forefinger 
and  thumb  with  the  sharp  end  upwards,  and  as 
little  exposed  as  possible.  An  antagonist  then  ap- 
proached, and  with  the  sharp  end  of  his  own  egg 
struck  this  egg.  If  he  succeeded  in  cracking  it, 
the  vanquished  egg  was  his ;  and  he  either  sold  it 
for  a  halfpenny  in  the  market,  or  reserved  it  for 
his  own  eating.  When  all  the  sharp  ends  had  been 
crushed,  then  the  blunt  ends  entered  into  battle. 
Thus  nearly  every  Pasche  egg  in  the  school  had 
its  career  of  combat.  The  possessor  of  a  strong 
egg  with  a  thick  shell  would  sometimes  vanquish 
a  dozen  of  his  opponents,  all  of  which  the  con- 
queror ultimately  transferred  into  his  own  stom- 
ach, when  no  more  eggs  with  unbroken  ends 
remained  to  carry  on  the  war  of  Easter  Week. 

"The  little  black  and  white  bitch  once  began  to 
snarl,  and  then  to  bark  at  me,  when  I  was  on  a 
roving  expedition  in  quest  of  hens'  nests.  I  took 
up  half  a  brick  and  knocked  it  head  over  heels. 
Mr.  Storey  was  watching  at  the  time  from  one  of 
the  upper  windows ;  but  I  had  not  seen  him,  until 
I  heard  the  sound  of  his  magisterial  voice.  He 
beckoned  me  to  his  room  there  and  then,  and 
whipped  me  soundly  for  my  pains. 

''Four  of  us  scholars  stayed  at  Tudhoe  during 
the  summer  vacation,  when  all  the  rest  had  gone 
home.    Two  of  these  had  dispositions  as  malicious 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         9 

as  those  of  two  old  apes.  One  fine  summer's 
morning  they  decoyed  me  into  a  field  (I  was  just 
then  from  my  mother's  nursery)  where  there  was 
a  flock  of  geese.  They  assured  me  that  the  geese 
had  no  right  to  be  there;  and  that  it  was  neces- 
sary we  should  kill  them,  as  they  were  trespassing 
on  our  master's  grass.  The  scamps  then  furnished 
me  with  a  hedge-stake.  On  approaching  the  flock, 
behold  the  gander  came  out  to  meet  me;  and 
whilst  he  was  hissing  defiance  at  us,  I  struck  him 
on  the  neck,  and  killed  him  outright.  My  comrades 
immediately  took  to  flight,  and  on  reaching  the 
house  informed  our  master  of  what  I  had  done. 
But  when  he  heard  my  unvarnished  account  of 
the  gander's  death,  he  did  not  say  one  single  un- 
kind word  to  me,  but  scolded  most  severely  the 
two  boys  who  had  led  me  into  the  scrape.  The 
geese  belonged  to  a  farmer  named  John  Hey, 
whose  son  Ralph  used  to  provide  me  with  birds' 
eggs.  Ever  after  when  I  passed  by  his  house, 
some  of  the  children  would  point  to  me  and  say, 
'Yaw  killed  aur  guise.' 

*'At  Bishop- Auckland  there  lived  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Charles  the  Painter.  He  played  extremely 
well  on  the  Northumberland  bagpipe,  and  his 
neighbour  was  a  good  performer  on  the  flageolet. 
When  we  had  pleased  our  master  by  continued 
good  conduct,  he  would  send  for  these  two  musi- 
cians, who  gave  us  a  delightful  evening  concert  in 
the  general  play-room,  Mr.  Storey  himself  sup- 
plying an  extra  treat  of  fruit,  cakes,  and  tea. 

''Tudhoe  had  her  own  ghosts  and  spectres,  just 
as  the  neighbouring  villages  had  theirs.  One  was 
the  Tudhoe  mouse,  well-known  and  often  seen  in 


10      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

every  house  in  the  village;  but  I  cannot  affirm 
that  I  myself  ever  saw  it.  It  was  an  enormous 
mouse,  of  a  dark  brown  colour,  and  did  an  im- 
mensity of  mischief.  No  cat  could  face  it ;  and  as 
it  wandered  through  the  village,  all  the  dogs  would 
take  off,  frightened  out  of  their  wits,  and  howling 
as  they  ran  away.  William  Wilkinson,  Mr.  Sto- 
rey's farming  man,  told  me  he  had  often  seen  it, 
but  that  it  terrified  him  to  such  a  degree  that  he 
could  not  move  from  the  place  where  he  was 
standing. 

' '  Our  master  kept  a  large  tom-cat  in  the  house. 
A  fine  young  man,  in  the  neighbouring  village  of 
Ferryhill,  had  been  severely  bitten  by  a  cat,  and 
he  died  raving  mad.  On  the  day  that  we  got  this 
information  from  Timothy  Pickering,  the  carpen- 
ter at  Tudhoe,  I  was  on  the  prowl  for  adventures, 
and  in  passing  through  Mr.  Storey's  back  kitchen, 
his  big  black  cat  came  up  to  me.  Whilst  I  was 
tickling  its  bushy  tail,  it  turned  round  upon  me, 
and  gave  me  a  severe  bite  in  the  calf  of  the  leg. 
This  I  kept  a  profound  secret,  but  I  was  quite  sure 
I  should  go  mad  every  day,  for  many  months 
afterwards. 

"There  was  a  blacksmith's  shop  leading  down 
the  village  to  Tudhoe  Old  Hall.  Just  opposite  this 
shop  was  a  pond,  on  the  other  side  of  the  road. 
When  any  sudden  death  was  to  take  place,  or  any 
sudden  ill  to  befall  the  village,  a  large  black  horse 
used  to  emerge  from  it,  and  walk  slowly  up  and 
down  the  village,  carrying  a  rider  without  a  head. 
The  blacksmith's  grandfather,  his  father,  himself, 
his  three  sons,  and  two  daughters,  had  seen  this 
midnight  apparition  rise  out  of  the  pond,  and  re- 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA      11 

turn  to  it  before  the  break  of  day.  John  Hickson 
and  Neddy  Hunt,  two  hangers-on  at  the  black- 
smith's shop,  had  seen  this  phantom  more  than 
once,  but  they  never  durst  approach  it.  Indeed, 
every  man  and  woman  and  child  believed  in  this 
centaur-spectre,  and  I  am  not  quite  sure  if  our 
old  master  himself  did  not  partly  believe  that 
such  a  thing  had  occasionally  been  seen  on  very 
dark  nights. 

^'Tudhoe  has  no  river,  a  misfortune  'valde  de- 
flendus/  In  other  respects  the  vicinity  was  charm- 
ing; and  it  afforded  an  ample  supply  of  woods 
and  hedgerow  trees  to  insure  a  sufficient  stock  of 
carrion  crows,  jackdaws,  jays,  magpies,  brown 
owls,  kestrels,  merlins,  and  sparrow-hawks,  for 
the  benefit  of  natural  history  and  my  own  instruc- 
tion and  amusement." 

In  1796  Waterton  left  Tudhoe  School  and  went 
to  Stonyhurst  College  in  Lancashire.  It  was  a 
country  house  of  the  picturesque  style  of  King 
James  I.,  which  had  just  been  made  over  by  Mr. 
Weld  of  Lulworth  to  the  Jesuits  expelled  from 
Liege.  The  country  round  Stonyhurst  is  varied 
by  hills  and  streams,  and  there  are  mountains  at 
no  great  distance. 

"Whernside,  Pendle  Hill,  and  Ingleboro*, 
Three  higher  hills  you'll  not  find  England  thoro*," 

as  they  are  described,  with  equal  disregard  of 
exact  mensuration  and  of  rhythm,  in  a  local  rhyme 
which  Waterton  learned.  Curlew  used  to  fly  by 
in  flocks,  and  the  country  people  had  also  a  rhyme 
about  the  curlew: — 


12      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

**Be  she  white  or  be  she  black, 
She  carries  sixpence  on  her  back," 

which  Waterton  used  to  say  showed  how  our  an- 
cestors valued  the  bird  at  table. 

At  Stonyhurst  he  read  a  good  deal  of  Latin  and 
of  English  literature,  and  acquired  a  taste  for 
writing  Latin  verse.  He  always  looked  back  on 
his  education  there  with  satisfaction,  and  in  after- 
life often  went  to  visit  the  college.  Throughout 
life  he  never  drank  wine,  and  this  fortunate  habit 
was  the  result  of  the  good  advice  of  one  of  his 
teachers : — 

"My  master  was  Father  Clifford,  a  first  cousin 
of  the  noble  lord  of  that  name.  He  had  left  the 
world,  and  all  its  alluring  follies,  that  he  might 
serve  Almighty  God  more  perfectly,  and  work  his 
way  with  more  security  up  to  the  regions  of  eternal 
bliss.  After  educating  those  entrusted  to  his 
charge  with  a  care  and  affection  truly  paternal, 
he  burst  a  blood-vessel,  and  retired  to  Palermo  for 
the  benefit  of  a  warmer  climate.  There  he  died 
the  death  of  the  just,  in  the  habit  of  St.  Ignatius. 

**One  day,  when  I  was  in  the  class  of  poetry, 
and  which  was  about  two  years  before  I  left  the 
college  for  good  and  all,  he  called  me  up  to  his 
room.  'Charles,'  said  he  to  me,  in  a  tone  of  voice 
perfectly  irresistible,  'I  have  long  been  studying 
your  disposition,  and  I  clearly  foresee  that  noth- 
ing will  keep  you  at  home.  You  will  journey  into 
far-distant  countries,  where  you  will  be  exposed 
to  many  dangers.  There  is  only  one  way  for  you 
to  escape  them.  Promise  me  that,  from  this  day 
forward,  you  will  never  put  your  lips  to  wine,  or 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       13 

to  spirituous  liquors.'  'The  sacrifice  is  nothing,* 
added  he;  'but,  in  the  end,  it  will  prove  of  incal- 
culable advantage  to  you.'  I  agreed  to  his  en- 
lightened proposal;  and  from  that  hour  to  this, 
which  is  now  about  nine-and-thirty  years,  I  have 
never  swallowed  one  glass  of  any  kind  of  wine  or 
of  ardent  spirits." 

After  leaving  college  Waterton  stayed  at  home 
with  his  father,  and  enjoyed  fox-hunting  for  a 
while.  To  the  end  of  his  days  he  liked  to  hear  of  a 
good  run,  and  he  would  now  and  then  look  with 
pleasure  on  an  engraving  which  hung  in  the  usual 
dining-room  at  Walton  Hall,  representing  Lord 
Darlington,  the  first  master  of  hounds  he  had 
known,  well  seated  on  a  powerful  horse  and  sur- 
rounded by  very  muscular  hounds.  In  1802  he 
went  to  visit  two  uncles  in  Spain,  and  stayed  for 
more  than  a  year,  and  there  had  a  terrible  ex- 
perience of  pestilence  and  of  earthquake; — 

"There  began  to  be  reports  spread  up  and  down 
the  city  that  the  black  vomit  had  made  its  appear- 
ance ;  and  every  succeeding  day  brought  testimony 
that  things  were  not  as  they  ought  to  be.  I  myself, 
in  an  alley  near  my  uncles'  house,  saw  a  mattress 
of  most  suspicious  appearance  hung  out  to  dry. 
A  Maltese  captain,  who  had  dined  with  us  in  good 
health  at  one  o'clock,  lay  dead  in  his  cabin  before 
sunrise  the  next  morning.  A  few  days  after  this 
I  was  seized  with  vomiting  and  fever  during  the 
night.  I  had  the  most  dreadful  spasms,  and  it  was 
supposed  that  I  could  not  last  out  till  noon  the 
next  day.  However,  strength  of  constitution  got 
me  through  it.  Tn  three  weeks  more,  multitudes 
were  seen  to  leave  the  city,  which  shortly  after 


14      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

was  declared  to  be  in  a  state  of  pestilence.  Some 
affirmed  that  the  disorder  had  come  from  the 
Levant ;  others  said  that  it  had  been  imported  from 
the  Havafnna ;  but  I  think  it  probable  that  nobody 
could  tell  in  what  quarter  it  had  originated. 

'*We  had  now  all  retired  to  the  country-house 
— my  eldest  uncle  returning  to  Malaga  from  time 
to  time,  according  as  the  pressure  of  business  de- 
manded his  presence  in  the  city.  He  left  us  one 
Sunday  evening,  and  said  he  would  be  back  again 
some  time  on  Monday;  but  that  was  my  poor 
uncle's  last  day's  ride.  On  arriving  at  his  house 
in  Malaga,  there  was  a  messenger  waiting  to  in- 
form him  that  Father  Bustamante  had  fallen  sick, 
and  wished  to  see  him.  Father  Bustamante  was 
an  aged  priest,  who  had  been  particularly  kind  to 
my  uncle  on  his  first  arrival  in  Malaga.  My  uncle 
went  immediately  to  Father  Bustamante,  gave 
him  every  consolation  in  his  power,  and  then  re- 
turned to  his  own  house  very  unwell,  there  to  die 
a  martyr  to  his  charity.  Father  Bustamante 
breathed  his  last  before  daylight;  my  uncle  took 
to  his  bed,  and  never  rose  more.  As  soon  as  we 
had  received  information  of  his  sickness,  I  im- 
mediately set  out  on  foot  for  the  city.  His  friend, 
Mr.  Power,  now  of  Gibraltar,  was  already  in  his 
room,  doing  everything  that  friendship  could  sug- 
gest or  prudence  dictate.  My  uncle's  athletic 
constitution  bore  up  against  the  disease  much 
longer  than  we  thought  it  possible.  He  struggled 
with  it  for  five  days,  and  sank  at  last  about  the 
hour  of  sunset.  He  stood  six  feet  four  inches 
high;  and  was  of  so  kind  and  generous  a  dispo- 
sition, that  he  was  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       15 

Many  a  Spanish  tear  flowed  when  it  was  known 
that  he  had  ceased  to  be.  We  got  him  a  kind  of 
coffin  made,  in  which  he  was  conveyed  at  midnight 
to  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  there  to  be  put  into 
one  of  the  pits  which  the  galley-slaves  had  dug 
during  the  day  for  the  reception  of  the  dead.  But 
they  could  not  spare  room  for  the  coffin;  so  the 
body  was  taken  out  of  it,  and  thrown  upon  the 
heap  which  already  occupied  the  pit.  A  Spanish 
marquis  lay  just  below  him. 

**  Thousands  died  as  though  they  had  been 
seized  with  cholera,  others  with  black  vomit,  and 
others  of  decided  yellow  fever.  There  were  a  few 
instances  of  some  who  departed  this  life  with  very 
little  pain  or  bad  symptoms :  they  felt  unwell,  they 
went  to  bed,  they  had  an  idea  that  they  would  not 
get  better,  and  they  expired  in  a  kind  of  slumber. 
It  was  sad  in  the  extreme  to  see  the  bodies  placed 
in  the  streets  at  the  close  of  day,  to  be  ready  f©r 
the  dead-carts  as  they  passed  along.  The  dogs 
howled  fearfully  during  the  night.  All  was  gloom 
and  horror  in  every  street ;  and  you  might  see  the 
vultures  on  the  strand  tugging  at  the  bodies  which 
were  washed  ashore  by  the  eastern  wind.  It  was 
always  said  that  50,000  people  left  the  city  at  the 
commencement  of  the  pestilence ;  and  that  14,000 
of  those  who  remained  in  it  fell  victims  to  the 
disease. 

^' There  was  an  intrigue  going  on  at  court,  for 
the  interest  of  certain  powerful  people,  to  keep  the 
port  of  Malaga  closed  long  after  the  city  had  been 
declared  free  from  the  disorder;  so  that  none  of 
the  vessels  in  the  mole  could  obtain  permission 
to  depart  for  their  destination. 


16      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

*'In  the  meantime  the  city  was  shaken  with 
earthquakes;  shock  succeeding  shock,  till  we  all 
imagined  that  a  catastrophe  awaited  us  similar 
to  that  which  had  taken  place  at  Lisbon.  The  pes- 
tilence killed  you  by  degrees,  and  its  approaches 
were  sufficiently  slow,  in  general,  to  enable  you 
to  submit  to  it  with  firmness  and  resignation;  but 
the  idea  of  being  swallowed  up  alive  by  the  yawn- 
ing earth  at  a  moment's  notice,  made  you  sick  at 
heart,  and  rendered  you  almost  fearful  of  your 
own  shadow.  The  first  shock  took  place  at  six  in 
the  evening,  with  a  noise  as  though  a  thousand 
carriages  had  dashed  against  each  other.  This 
terrified  many  people  to  such  a  degree  that  they 
paced  all  night  long  up  and  down  the  Alameda,  or 
public  walk,  rather  than  retire  to  their  homes.  I 
went  to  bed  a  little  after  midnight,  but  was  roused 
by  another  shock  about  five  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
It  gave  the  bed  a  motion  which  made  me  fancy 
that  it  moved  under  me  from  side  to  side.  I 
sprang  up,  and  having  put  on  my  unmentionables 
(we  wore  no  trousers  in  those  days),  I  ran  out, 
in  all  haste,  to  the  Alameda.  There  the  scene  was 
most  distressing:  multitudes  of  both  sexes,  some 
nearly  in  a  state  of  nudity,  and  others  sick  at 
stomach,  were  huddled  together,  not  knowing 
which  way  to  turn  or  what  to  do. 

'Omnes  eodem  cogimur.' 


However,  it  pleased  Heaven,  in  its  mercy,  to  spare 
us.  The  succeeding  shocks  became  weaker  and 
weaker,  till  at  last  we  felt  no  more  of  them. ' ' 

A  courageous  sea-captain  at  last  sailed  away  in 
safety,  though  chased  by  the  Spanish  brigs  of 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       17 

war,  and  after  thirty  days  at  sea  Waterton  landed 
in  England. 

Another  uncle  had  estates  in  Demerara,  and  in 
the  autumn  Waterton  sailed  thither  from  Ports- 
mouth. He  landed  at  Georgetown,  Demerara,  in 
November,  1804,  and  was  soon  delighted  by  the 
natural  history  of  the  tropical  forest.  In  1806  his 
father  died,  and  he  returned  to  England.  He  made 
four  more  journeys  to  Guiana,  and,  in  1825,  pub- 
lished an  account  of  them,  entitled  ''Wanderings 
in  South  America,  the  North- West  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  Antilles,  in  the  years  1812,  1816, 
1820,  and  1824 ;  with  original  instructions  for  the 
perfect  preservation  of  birds,  &c.,  for  cabinets 
of  natural  history."  The  book  at  once  attracted 
general  attention,  became  popular,  and  has  taken 
a  place  among  permanent  English  literature.  Un- 
like most  travellers,  Waterton  tells  nothing  of  his 
personal  difficulties  and  discomforts,  and  encum- 
bers his  pages  with  neither  statistics  nor  informa- 
tion of  the  guide-book  kind.  His  observation  of 
birds  and  beasts,  written  down  in  the  forests,  and 
the  description  of  the  forests  themselves,  fill  all 
his  pages.  The  great  ant-eater  and  the  sloth  were 
for  the  first  time  accurately  described  by  him. 
He  showed  that  the  sloth,  instead  of  being  a  de- 
formed, unhappy  creature,  was  admirably  adapted 
to  its  habitat.  He  explained  the  use  of  the  great 
claws  of  the  ant-eater,  and  the  curious  gait  which 
they  necessitated.  The  habits  of  the  toucan,  of 
the  houtou,  of  the  campanero,  and  of  many  other 
birds,  were  first  correctly  described  by  him.  He 
determined  to  catch  a  cayman  or  alligator,  and 

2 


18      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

at  last  hooked  one  with  a  curious  wooden  hook  of 
four  barbs  made  for  him  by  an  Indian. 

The  adventure  which  followed  is  perhaps  one 
of  the  most  famous  exploits  of  an  English  nat- 
uralist. 

'*We  found  a  cayman,  ten  feet  and  a  half  long, 
fast  to  the  end  of  the  rope.  Nothing  now  re- 
mained to  do,  but  to  get  him  out  of  the  water 
without  injuring  his  scales,  'hoc  opus,  hie  labor.' 
We  mustered  strong:  there  were  three  Indians 
from  the  creek,  there  was  my  own  Indian,  Yan; 
Daddy  Quashi,*  the  negro  from  Mrs.  Peterson's; 
James,  Mr.  R.  Edmonstone's  man,  whom  I  was 
instructing  to  preserve  birds ;  and,  lastly,  myself. 

''I  informed  the  Indians  that  it  was  my  inten- 
tion to  draw  him  quietly  out  of  the  water,  and  then 
secure  him.  They  looked  and  stared  at  each 
other,  and  said  I  might  do  it  myself,  but  they 
would  have  no  hand  in  it;  the  cayman  would 
worry  some  of  us.  On  saying  tliis,  'consedere 
duces,'  they  squatted  on  their  hams  with  the  most 
perfect  indifference. 

"The  Indians  of  these  wilds  have  never  been 
subject  to  the  least  restraint ;  and  I  knew  enough 
of  them  to  be  aware,  that  if  I  tried  to  force  them 
against  their  will,  they  would  take  off,  and  leave 
me  and  my  presents  unheeded,  and  never  return. 

**  Daddy  Quashi  was  for  applying  to  our  guns, 
as  usual,  considering  them  our  best  and  safest 

*  The  negroes  of  the  West  Coast  of  Africa,  as  I  am  informed 
by  Dr.  Kodjoe  Benjamin  William  Kwatei-kpakpafio,  of  Accra, 
take  their  names  from  the  day  of  the  week  on  which  they  are 
born:  Quashi  (Kwasi)  is  Sunday;  Kodjoe,  Monday;  Koffie, 
Tuesday. — N.  M. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       19 

friends.  I  immediately  offered  to  knock  him  down 
for  his  cowardice,  and  he  shrank  back,  begging 
that  I  would  be  cautious,  and  not  get  myself  wor- 
ried ;  and  apologising  for  his  own  want  of  resolu- 
tion. My  Indian  was  now  in  conversation  with  the 
others,  and  they  asked  me  if  I  would  allow  them 
to  shoot  a  dozen  arrows  into  him,  and  thus  disable 
him.  This  would  have  ruined  all.  I  had  come 
above  three  hundred  miles  on  purpose  to  get  a 
cayman  uninjured,  and  not  to  carry  back  a  muti- 
lated specimen.  I  rejected  their  proposition  with 
firmness,  and  darted  a  disdainful  eye  upon  the 
Indians. 

**  Daddy  Quashi  was  again  beginning  to  remon- 
strate, and  I  chased  him  on  the  sand-bank  for  a 
quarter  of  a  mile.  He  told  me  afterwards,  he 
thought  he  should  have  dropped  down  dead  with 
fright,  for  he  was  firmly  persuaded,  if  I  had  caught 
him,  I  should  have  bundled  him  into  the  cayman's 
jaws.  Here  then  we  stood,  in  silence,  like  a  calm 
before  a  thunder-storm.  *Hoc  res  summa  loco. 
Scinditur  in  contraria  vulgus.'  They  wanted  to 
kill  him,  and  I  wanted  to  take  him  alive. 

* '  I  now  walked  up  and  down  the  sand,  revolving 
a  dozen  projects  in  my  head.  The  canoe  was  at  a 
considerable  distance,  and  I  ordered  the  people  to 
bring  it  round  to  the  place  where  we  were.  The 
mast  was  eight  feet  long,  and  not  much  thicker 
than  my  wrist.  I  took  it  out  of  the  canoe,  and 
wrapped  the  sail  round  the  end  of  it.  Now  it  ap- 
peared clear  to  me,  that  if  I  went  down  upon  one 
knee,  and  held  the  mast  in  the  same  position  as 
the  soldier  holds  his  bayonet  when  rushing  to  the 
charge,  I  could  force  it  down  the  cayman's  throat, 


20      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

should  lie  come  open-mouthed  at  me.  When  this 
was  told  to  the  Indians,  they  brightened  up,  and 
said  they  would  help  me  to  pull  him  out  of  the 
river. 

"  *  Brave  squad!'  said  I  to  myself,  '  ''Audax 
omnia  perpeti, ' '  now  that  you  have  got  me  betwixt 
yourselves  and  danger.'  I  then  mustered  all 
hands  for  the  last  time  before  the  battle.  We 
were,  four  South  American  savages,  two  negroes 
from  Africa,  a  Creole  from  Trinidad,  and  myself, 
a  white  man  from  Yorkshire.  In  fact,  a  little 
Tower  of  Babel  group,  in  dress,  no  dress,  address 
and  language. 

' 'Daddy  Quashi  hung  in  the  rear ;  I  showed  him 
a  large  Spanish  knife,  which  I  always  carried  in 
the  waistband  of  my  trousers:  it  spoke  volumes 
to  him,  and  he  shrugged  up  his  shoulders  in  ab- 
solute despair.  The  sun  was  just  peeping  over 
the  high  forests  on  the  eastern  hills,  as  if  coming 
to  look  on,  and  bid  us  act  with  becoming  fortitude. 
I  placed  all  the  people  at  the  end  of  the  rope,  and 
ordered  them  to  pull  till  the  cayman  appeared  on 
the  surface  of  the  water;  and  then,  should  he 
plunge,  to  slacken  the  rope  and  let  him  go  again 
into  the  deep. 

* '  I  now  took  the  mast  of  the  canoe  in  my  hand 
(the  sail  being  tied  round  the  end  of  the  mast)  and 
sank  down  upon  one  knee,  about  four  yards  from 
the  water's  edge,  determining  to  thrust  it  down 
his  throat,  in  case  he  gave  me  an  opportunity.  I 
certainly  felt  somewhat  uncomfortable  in  this 
situation,  and  I  thought  of  Cerberus  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Styx  ferry.  The  people  pulled  the 
cayman  to  the  surface;   he  plunged  furiously  as 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       21 

soon  as  be  arrived  in  these  upper  regions,  and  im- 
mediately went  below  again  on  tlieir  slackening 
tbe  rope.  I  saw  enougb  not  to  fall  in  love  at  first 
sight.  I  now  told  them  we  would  run  all  risks, 
and  have  him  on  land  immediately.  They  pulled 
again,  and  out  be  came — 'monstrum  horrendum, 
informe.'  This  was  an  interesting  moment.  I 
kept  my  position  firmly,  with  my  eye  fijsed  stead- 
fast on  him. 

*'By  the  time  the  cayman  was  within  two  yards 
of  me,  I  saw  he  was  in  a  state  of  fear  and  pertur- 
bation :  I  instantly  dropped  the  mast,  sprang  up, 
and  jumped  on  his  back,  turning  half  round  as  I 
vaulted,  so  that  I  gained  my  seat  with  my  face  in 
a  right  position.  I  immediately  seized  his  fore- 
legs, and  by  main  force  twisted  them  on  his  back ; 
thus  they  served  me  for  a  bridle. 

''He  now  seemed  to  have  recovered  from  his 
surprise,  and  probably  fancying  himself  in  hostile 
company,  he  began  to  plunge  furiously,  and  lashed 
the  sand  with  his  long  and  powerful  tail.  I  was 
out  of  reach  of  the  strokes  of  it,  by  being  near 
his  head.  He  continued  to  plunge  and  strike,  and 
made  my  seat  very  uncomfortable.  It  must  have 
been  a  fine  sight  for  an  unoccupied  spectator. 

* '  The  people  roared  out  in  triumph,  and  were  so 
vociferous,  that  it  was  some  time  before  they 
heard  me  tell  them  to  pull  me  and  my  beast  of 
burthen  farther  inland.  I  was  apprehensive  the 
rope  might  break,  and  then  there  would  have  been 
every  chance  of  going  down  to  the  regions  under 
water  with  the  cayman.  That  would  have  been 
more  perilous  than  Arion's  marine  morning 
ride : — 

'Delphini  insidens  vada  cserula  sulcat  Arion. ' 


22      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

*  *  The  people  now  dragged  us  about  forty  yards 
on  the  sand;  it  was  the  first  and  last  time  I  was 
ever  on  a  cayman's  back.  Should  it  be  asked,  how 
I  managed  to  keep  my  seat,  I  would  answer — I 
hunted  some  years  with  Lord  Darlington's  fox- 
hounds. 

"After  repeated  attempts  to  regain  his  liberty, 
the  cayman  gave  in,  and  became  tranquil  through 
exhaustion.  I  now  managed  to  tie  up  his  jaws, 
and  firmly  secured  his  fore-feet  in  the  position  I 
had  held  them.  We  had  now  another  severe  strug- 
gle for  superiority,  but  he  was  soon  overcome,  and 
again  remained  quiet.  Wliile  some  of  the  people 
were  pressing  upon  his  head  and  shoulders,  I 
threw  myself  on  his  tail,  and  by  keeping  it  down 
to  the  sand,  prevented  him  from  kicking  up  an- 
other dust.  He  was  finally  conveyed  to  the  canoe, 
and  then  to  the  place  where  we  had  suspended  our 
hammocks.  There  I  cut  his  throat;  and  after 
breakfast  was  over  commenced  the  dissection." 

After  his  fourth  journey  Waterton  occasionally 
travelled  on  the  Continent,  but  for  the  most  part 
resided  at  Walton  Hall.  In  the  park  he  made  the 
observations  afterwards  published  as  ''Essays  on 
Natural  History,"  in  three  series,  and  since  re- 
printed, with  his  Life  and  Letters. 

Walton  Hall  is  situated  on  an  island  sur- 
rounded by  its  ancient  moat,  a  lake  of  about  five- 
and-twenty  acres  in  extent.  From  the  shores  of 
the  lake  the  land  rises;  parts  of  the  slope,  and 
nearly  all  the  highest  part,  being  covered  with 
wood. 

In  one  wood  there  was  a  large  heronry,  in  an- 
other   a    rookery.      Several    hollow    trees    were 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA      23 

haunted  by  owls ;  in  the  summer  goat-suckers  were 
always  to  be  seen  in  the  evening  flying  about  two 
oaks  on  the  hill.  At  one  end  of  the  lake  in  summer 
the  kingfisher  might  be  watched  fishing,  and 
throughout  the  year  herons  waded  round  its 
shores  picking  up  fresh-water  mussels,  or  stood 
motionless  for  hours,  watching  for  fish.  In  win- 
ter, when  the  lake  was  frozen,  three  or  four  hun- 
dred wild  duck,  with  teal  and  pochards,  rested  on 
it  all  day,  and  flew  away  at  night  to  feed ;  while 
widgeons  fed  by  day  on  its  shores.  Coots  and 
water  hens  used  to  come  close  to  the  windows  and 
pick  up  food  put  out  for  them.  The  Squire  built 
a  wall  nine  feet  high  all  round  his  park,  and  he 
used  laughingly  to  say  that  he  paid  for  it  with 
the  cost  of  the  wine  which  he  did  not  drink  after 
dinner. 

A  more  delightful  home  for  a  naturalist  could 
not  have  been.  No  shot  was  ever  fired  within  the 
park  wall,  and  every  year  more  birds  came.  Wat- 
erton  used  often  to  quote  the  lines : — 

"No  bird  that  haunts  my  valley  free 
To  slaughter  I  condemn; 
Taught  by  the  Power  that  pities  me, 
I  learn  to  pity  them ; ' ' 

and  each  new-comer  added  to  his  happiness.  In 
his  latter  days  the  household  usually  consisted  of 
the  Squire,  as  he  was  always  called,  and  of  his  two 
sisters-in-law,  for  he  had  lost  his  wife  soon  after 
his  marriage  in  1829.  He  breakfasted  at  eight, 
dined  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  and  drank  tea  in 
the  evening.  He  went  to  bed  early,  and  slept  upon 
the  bare  floor,  with  a  block  of  wood  for  his  pillow. 


24      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

He  rose  for  the  day  at  half -past  three,  and  spent 
the  hour  from  four  to  five  at  prayer  in  his  chapel. 
He  then  read  every  morning  a  chapter  in  a  Span- 
ish Life  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  followed  by  a 
chapter  of  "Don  Quixote"  in  the  original,  after 
which  he  used  to  stuff  birds  or  write  letters  till 
breakfast.  Most  of  the  day  he  spent  in  the  open 
air,  and  when  the  weather  was  cold  would  light  a 
fire  of  sticks  and  warm  himself  by  it.  So  active 
did  he  continue  to  the  end  of  his  days,  that  on  his 
eightieth  birthday  he  climbed  an  oak  in  my  com- 
pany. He  was  very  kind  to  the  poor,  and  threw 
open  a  beautiful  part  of  his  park  to  excursionists 
all  through  the  summer.  He  had  a  very  tender 
heart  for  beasts  and  birds,  as  well  as  for  men.  If 
a  cat  looked  hungry  he  would  see  that  she  had  a 
meal,  and  sometimes  when  he  had  forgotten  to 
put  a  crust  of  bread  in  his  pocket  before  starting 
on  his  afternoon  walk,  he  would  say  to  his  com- 
panion, "How  shall  we  ever  get  past  that  goose?" 
for  there  was  a  goose  which  used  to  wait  for  him 
in  the  evening  at  the  end  of  the  bridge  over  the 
moat,  and  he  could  not  bear  to  disappoint  it.  If 
he  could  not  find  a  bit  of  food  for  it,  he  would 
wait  at  a  distance  till  the  bird  went  away,  rather 
than  give  it  nothing  when  it  raised  its  bill. 

Towards  the  end  of  his  life  I  enjoyed  his  friend- 
ship, and  can  never  forget  his  kindly  welcome,  his 
pithy  conversation,  the  happy  humour  with  which 
he  expressed  the  conclusions  of  his  long  experi- 
ence of  men,  birds  and  beasts,  and  the  goodness 
which  shone  from  his  face.  I  was  staying  at 
Walton  when  he  died,  and  have  thus  described 
his  last  hours  in  the  biography  which  is  prefixed 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA      25 

to  the  latest  edition  of  his  Essays.  I  was  read- 
ing for  an  examination,  and  used,  on  the  Squire's 
invitation,  to  go  and  chat  with  him  just  after 
midnight,  for  at  that  hour  he  always  awoke,  and 
paid  a  short  visit  to  his  chapel.  A  little  before 
midnight  on  May  24th  I  visited  him  in  his  room. 
He  was  sitting  asleep  by  his  fire  wrapped  up  in  a 
large  Italian  cloak. 

His  head  rested  upon  his  wooden  pillow,  which 
was  placed  on  a  table,  and  his  thick  silvery  hair 
formed  a  beautiful  contrast  with  the  dark  colour 
of  the  oak.  He  soon  woke  up,  and  withdrew  to  the 
chapel,  and  on  his  return  we  talked  together  for 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  about  the  brown  owl, 
the  nightjar,  and  other  birds.  The  next  morning. 
May  25,  he  was  unusually  cheerful,  and  said  to 
me,  *'That  was  a  very  pleasant  little  confab  we 
had  last  night:  I  do  not  suppose  there  was  such 
another  going  on  in  England  at  the  same  time." 
After  breakfast  we  went  with  a  carpenter  to  finish 
some  bridges  at  the  far  end  of  the  park.  The 
work  was  completed,  and  we  were  proceeding 
homewards  when,  in  crossing  a  small  bridge,  a 
bramble  caught  the  Squire's  foot,  and  he  fell 
heavily  upon  a  log.  He  was  greatly  shaken,  and 
said  he  thought  he  was  dying.  He  walked,  not- 
withstanding, a  little  way,  and  was  then  compelled 
to  lie  down.  He  would  not  permit  his  sufferings 
to  distract  his  mind,  and  he  pointed  out  to  the 
carpenter  some  trees  which  were  to  be  felled.  He 
presently  continued  his  route,  and  managed  to 
reach  the  spot  where  the  boat  was  moored.  Hith- 
erto he  had  refused  all  assistance,  but  he  could  not 
step  from  the  bank  into  the  boat,  and  he  said,  "I 


26      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

am  afraid  I  must  ask  you  to  help  me  in."  He 
walked  from  the  landing-place  into  the  house, 
changed  his  clothes,  and  came  and  sat  in  the  large 
room  below.  The  pain  increasing,  he  rose  from 
his  seat  after  he  had  seen  his  doctor,  and  though 
he  had  been  bent  double  with  anguish,  he  persisted 
in  walking  up-stairs  without  help,  and  would  have 
gone  to  his  own  room  in  the  top  storey,  if,  for  the 
sake  of  saving  trouble  to  others,  he  had  not  been 
induced  to  stop  half-way  in  Miss  Edmonstone's 
sitting-room.  Here  he  lay  down  upon  the  sofa, 
and  was  attended  by  his  sisters-in-law.  The  pain 
abated,  and  the  next  day  he  seemed  better.  In 
the  afternoon  he  talked  to  me  a  good  deal,  chiefly 
about  natural  history.  But  he  was  well  aware  of 
his  perilous  condition,  for  he  remarked  to  me, 
"This  is  a  bad  business,"  and  later  on  he  felt  his 
pulse  often,  and  said,  "It  is  a  bad  case."  He  was 
more  than  self-possessed.  A  benignant  cheerful- 
ness beamed  from  his  mind,  and  in  the  fits  of  pain 
he  frequently  looked  up  with  a  gentle  smile,  and 
made  some  little  joke.  Towards  midnight  he  grew 
worse.  The  priest,  the  Eeverend  E.  Browne,  was 
summoned,  and  Waterton  got  ready  to  die.  He 
pulled  himself  upright  without  help,  sat  in  the 
middle  of  the  sofa,  and  gave  his  blessing  in  turn  to 
his  grandson,  Charlie,  to  his  grand-daughter, 
Mary,  to  each  of  his  sisters-in-law,  to  his  niece, 
and  to  myself,  and  left  a  message  for  his  son,  who 
was  hastening  back  from  Eome.  He  then  received 
the  last  sacraments,  repeated  all  the  responses. 
Saint  Bernard's  hymn  in  English,  and  the  first 
two  verses  of  the  Dies  Irce.  The  end  was  now  at 
hand,  and  he  died  at  twenty-seven  minutes  past 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA      27 

two  in  the  morning  of  May  27, 1865.  The  window 
was  open.  The  sky  was  beginning  to  grow  grey, 
a  few  rooks  had  cawed,  the  swallows  were  twit- 
tering, the  landrail  was  craking  from  the  ox-close, 
and  a  favourite  cock,  which  he  used  to  call  his 
morning  gun,  leaped  out  from  some  hollies,  and 
gave  his  accustomed  crow.  The  ear  of  his  master 
was  deaf  to  the  call.  He  had  obeyed  a  sublimer 
summons,  and  had  woke  up  to  the  glories  of  the 
eternal  world. 

He  was  buried  on  his  birthday,  the  3rd  of  June, 
between  two  great  oaks  at  the  far  end  of  the  lake, 
the  oldest  trees  in  the  park.  He  had  put  up  a 
rough  stone  cross  to  mark  the  spot  where  he 
wished  to  be  buried.  Often  on  summer  days  he 
had  sat  in  the  shade  of  these  oaks  watching  the 
kingfishers.  **Cock  Robin  and  the  magpies,'*  he 
said  to  me  as  we  sat  by  the  trees  one  day,  ''will 
mourn  my  loss,  and  you  will  sometimes  remember 
me  when  I  lie  here."  At  the  foot  of  the  cross  is 
a  Latin  inscription  which  he  wrote  himself.  It 
could  hardly  be  simpler:  "Pray  for  the  soul  of 
Charles  Waterton,  whose  tired  bones  are  buried 
near  this  cross."  The  dates  of  his  birth  and  death 
are  added. 

Walton  Hall  is  no  longer  the  home  of  the  Wat- 
ertons,  the  oaks  are  too  old  to  flourish  many 
years  more,  and  in  time  the  stone  cross  may  be 
overthrown  and  the  exact  burial  place  of  Water- 
ton  be  forgotten;  but  his  "Wanderings  in  South 
America"  and  his  "Natural  History  Essays"  will 
always  be  read,  and  are  for  him  a  memorial  like 
that  claimed  by  the  poet  he  read  oftenest — 

"quod  nee  Jovis  ira,  nee  ignes, 
Nee  poterit  ferrum,  nee  edax  abolere  vetustas." 

NOBMAN    MOOEE. 


Wanderings  in  South  America 


FIRST  JOURNEY 

CHAPTER  I 

-  "nee  herba,  nee  latens  in  asperis 


Radix  fefellit  me  locis. " 

In  the  month  of  April,  1812,  I  left  the  town  of 
Stabroek,  to  travel  through  the  wilds  of  Demerara 
and  Essequibo,  a  part  of  ci-devant  Dutch  Guiana, 
in  South  America. 

The  chief  objects  in  view  were  to  collect  a 
quantity  of  the  strongest  Wourali-poison ;  and  to 
reach  the  inland  frontier  fort  of  Portuguese 
Guiana. 

It  would  be  a  tedious  journey  for  him  who 
wishes  to  travel  through  these  wilds,  to  set  out 
from  Stabroek  on  foot.  The  sun  would  exhaust 
him  in  his  attempts  to  wade  through  the  swamps, 
and  the  Mosquitos  at  night  would  deprive  him  of 
every  hour  of  sleep. 

The  road  for  horses  runs  parallel  to  the  river, 
but  it  extends  a  very  little  way,  and  even  ends 
before  the  cultivation  of  the  plantation  ceases. 

The  only  mode  then  that  remains  is  to  proceed 

29 


30      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

by  water;  and  when  you  come  to  the  high  lands, 
you  may  make  your  way  through  the  forest  on 
foot,  or  continue  your  route  on  the  river. 

After  passing  the  third  island  in  the  river 
Demerara,  there  are  few  plantations  to  be  seen, 
and  those  not  joining  on  to  one  another,  but  sepa- 
rated by  large  tracts  of  wood. 

The  Loo  is  the  last  where  the  Sugar-cane  is 
growing.  The  greater  part  of  its  negroes  have 
just  been  ordered  to  another  estate ;  and  ere  a  few 
months  shall  have  elapsed  all  signs  of  cultivation 
will  be  lost  in  underwood. 

Higher  up  stand  the  sugar-works  of  Amelia's 
Waard,  solitary  and  abandoned!  and  after  pass- 
ing these  there  is  not  a  ruin  to  inform  the  trav- 
eller that  either  coffee  or  sugar  have  ever  been 
cultivated. 

From  Amelia's  Waard  an  unbroken  range  of 
forest  covers  each  bank  of  the  river,  saving  here 
and  there  where  a  hut  discovers  itself,  inhabited 
by  free  people  of  colour,  with  a  rood  or  two  of 
bared  ground  about  it ;  or  where  the  wood-cutter 
has  erected  himself  a  dwelling,  and  cleared  a  few 
acres  for  pasturage.  Sometimes  you  see  level 
ground  on  each  side  of  you  for  two  or  three  hours 
at  a  stretch;  at  other  times  a  gently  sloping  hill 
presents  itself ;  and  often,  on  turning  a  point,  the 
eye  is  pleased  with  the  contrast  of  an  almost  per- 
pendicular height  jutting  into  the  water.  The 
trees  put  you  in  mind  of  an  eternal  spring,  with 
summer  and  autumn  kindly  blended  into  it. 

Here  you  may  see  a  sloping  extent  of  noble 
trees,  whose  foliage  displays  a  charming  variety 
of  every  shade,  from  the  lightest  to  the  darkest 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA      31 

green  and  purple.  The  tops  of  some  are  crowned 
with  bloom  of  the  loveliest  hue ;  while  the  boughs 
of  others  bend  with  a  profusion  of  seeds  and 
fruits. 

Those  whose  heads  have  been  bared  by  time,  or 
blasted  by  the  thunder-storm,  strike  the  eye,  as  a 
mournful  sound  does  the  ear  in  music ;  and  seem 
to  beckon  to  the  sentimental  traveller  to  stop  a 
moment  or  two,  and  see  that  the  forests  which 
surround  him,  like  men  and  kingdoms,  have  their 
periods  of  misfortune  and  decay. 

The  first  rocks  of  any  considerable  size  that  are 
observed  on  the  side  of  the  river  are  at  a  place 
called  Saba,  from  the  Indian  word,  which  means 
a  stone.  They  appear  sloping  down  to  the  water's 
edge,  not  shelvy,  but  smooth,  and  their  exuber- 
ances rounded  off,  and,  in  some  places,  deeply  fur- 
rowed, as  though  they  had  been  worn  with 
continual  floods  of  water. 

There  are  patches  of  soil  up  and  down,  and 
the  huge  stones  amongst  them  produce  a  pleasing 
and  novel  effect.  You  see  a  few  Coffee-trees  of  a 
fine  luxuriant  growth;  and  nearly  on  the  top  of 
Saba  stands  the  house  of  the  post-holder. 

He  is  appointed  by  government  to  give  in  his 
report  to  the  protector  of  the  Indians  of  what  is 
going  on  amongst  them,  and  to  prevent  suspicious 
people  from  passing  up  the  river.  -^1 

When  the  Indians  assemble  here  the  stranger 
may  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  tlje  Aborigines 
dancing  to  the  sound  of  their  country  music,  and 
painted  in  their  native  style.  They  will  shoot 
their  arrows  for  him  with  an  unerring  aim,  and 
send  the  poisoned  dart  from  the  blow-pipe  true 


32      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

\  to  its  destination ;  and  here  he  may  often  view  all 
the  different  shades,  from  the  red  savage  to  the 
white  man,  and  from  the  white  man  to  the  sootiest 
son  of  Africa. 

Beyond  this  post  there  are  no  more  habitations 
of  white  men,  or  free  people  of  colour. 

In  a  country  so  extensively  covered  with  wood 
as  this  is,  having  every  advantage  that  a  tropical 
sun  and  the  richest  mould,  in  many  places,  can 
give  to  vegetation,  it  is  natural  to  look  for  trees  of 
very  large  dimensions ;  but  it  is  rare  to  meet  with 
them  above  six  yards  in  circumference.  If  larger 
have  ever  existed,  they  have  fallen  a  sacrifice 
either  to  the  axe  or  to  fire. 

If,  however,  they  disappoint  you  in  size,  they 
make  ample  amends  in  height.  Heedless  and 
bankrupt  in  all  curiosity  must  he  be  who  can  jour- 
ney on  without  stopping  to  take  a  view  of  the 
towering  Mora.  Its  topmost  branch,  when  naked 
with  age  or  dried  by  accident,  is  the  favourite 
resort  of  the  Toucan.  Many  a  time  has  this 
singular  bird  felt  the  shot  faintly  strike  him  from 
the  gun  of  the  fowler  beneath,  and  owed  his  life 
to  the  distance  betwixt  them. 

The  trees  which  form  these  far-extending  wilds 
are  as  useful  as  they  are  ornamental.  It  would 
take  a  volume  of  itself  to  describe  them. 

The  Green-heart,  famous  for  its  hardness  and 
durability;  the  Hackea,  for  its  toughness;  the 
Ducalabali,  surpassing  mahogany ;  the  Ebony  and 
Letter-wood,  vying  with  the  choicest  woods  of  the 
old  world;  the  Locust-tree,  yielding  copal;  and 
the  Hayawa  and  Olou-trees,  furnishing  a  sweet- 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       33 

smelling  resin,  are  all  to  be  met  with  in  the  forest, 
betwixt  the  plantations  and  the  rock  Saba. 

Beyond  this  rock  the  country  has  been  little 
explored ;  but  it  is  very  probable  that  these,  and 
a  vast  collection  of  other  kinds,  and  possibly  many 
new  species,  are  scattered  up  and  down,  in  all 
directions,  through  the  swamps,  and  hills,  and  sa- 
vannas of  ci-devant  Dutch  Guiana. 

On  viewing  the  stately  trees  around  him  the 
naturalist  will  observe  many  of  them  bearing 
leaves,  and  blossoms,  and  fruit,  not  their  own. 

The  Wild  Fig-tree,  as  large  as  a  common  Eng- 
lish apple-tree,  often  rears  itself  from  one  of  the 
thick  branches  at  the  top  of  the  mora ;  and  when 
its  fruit  is  ripe,  to  it  the  birds  resort  for  nourish- 
ment. It  was  to  an  undigested  seed,  passing- 
through  the  body  of  the  bird  which  had  perched 
on  the  mora,  that  the  fig-tree  first  owed  its  ele- 
vated station  there.  The  sap  of  the  mora  raised 
it  into  full  bearing;  but  now,  in  its  turn,  it  is 
doomed  to  contribute  a  portion  of  its  own  sap  and 
juices  towards  the  growth  of  a  different  species 
of  vines,  the  seeds  of  which,  also,  the  birds  de- 
posited on  its  branches.  These  soon  vegetate,  and 
bear  fruit  in  great  quantities ;  so  what  with  their 
usurpation  of  the  resources  of  the  fig-tree,  and  the 
fig-tree  of  the  mora,  the  mora,  unable  to  support 
a  charge  which  nature  never  intended  it  should, 
languishes  and  dies  under  its  burden;  and  then 
the  fig-tree,  and  its  usurping  progeny  of  vines, 
receiving  no  more  succour  from  their  late  foster- 
parent,  droop  and  perish  in  their  turn. 

A  vine,  called  the  Bush-rope  by  the  wood- 
cutters, on  account  of  its  use  in  hauling  out  the 

3 


34      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

heaviest  timber,  has  a  singular  appearance  in  the 
forests  of  Demerara.  Sometimes  you  see  it  nearly 
as  thick  as  a  man's  body,  twisted  like  a  corkscrew 
round  the  tallest  trees,  and  rearing  its  head  high 
above  their  tops.  At  other  times  three  or  four  of 
them,  like  strands  in  a  cable,  join  tree  and  tree  and 
branch  and  branch  together.  Others,  descending 
from  on  high,  take  root  as  soon  as  their  extremity 
touches  the  ground,  and  appear  like  shrouds  and 
stays  supporting  the  mainmast  of  a  line-of-battle 
ship;  while  others,  sending  out  parallel,  oblique, 
horizontal,  and  perpendicular  shoots  in  all  direc- 
tions, put  you  in  mind  of  what  travellers  call  a 
matted  forest.  Oftentimes  a  tree,  above  a  hundred 
feet  high,  uprooted  by  the  whirlwind,  is  stopped  in 
its  fall  by  these  amazing  cables  of  nature;  and 
hence  it  is  that  you  account  for  the  phenomenon  of 
seeing  trees  not  only  vegetating,  but  sending  forth 
vigorous  shoots,  though  far  from  their  perpendic- 
ular, and  their  trunks  inclined  to  every  degree 
from  the  meridian  to  the  horizon. 

Their  heads  remain  firmly  supported  by  the 
bush-rope;  many  of  their  roots  soon  refix  them- 
selves in  the  earth,  and  frequently  a  strong  shoot 
will  sprout  out  perpendicularly  from  near  the 
root  of  the  reclined  trunk,  and  in  time  become  a 
fine  tree.  No  grass  grows  under  the  trees;  and 
few  weeds,  except  in  the  swamps. 

The  high  grounds  are  pretty  clear  of  under- 
wood, and  with  a  cuilass  to  sever  the  small  bush- 
ropes,  it  is  not  difficult  walking  among  the  trees. 

The  soil,  chiefly  formed  by  the  fallen  leaves  and 
decayed  trees,  is  very  rich  and  fertile  in  the 
valleys.    On  the  hills,  it  is  little  better  than  sand. 


i  UVINC^TCH  ffOCl,. 


'  T]ie    Peccari     herd     together,    and    traverse    the     wilds     in    all 
directions ' ' 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       35 

The  rains  seem  to  have  carried  away,  and  swept 
into  the  valleys,  every  particle  which  nature  in- 
tended to  have  formed  a  mould. 

Four-footed  animals  are  scarce,  considering  how 
very  thinly  these  forests  are  inhabited  by  men. 

•Several  species  of  the  animal,  commonly  called 
Tiger,  though  in  reality  it  approaches  nearer  to 
the  leopard,  are  found  here;  and  two  of  their 
diminutives,  named  Tiger-cats.  The  Tapir,  the 
Labba,  and  Deer,  afford  excellent  food,  and  chiefly 
frequent  the  swamps  and  low  ground,  near  the 
sides  of  the  river  and  creeks. 

In  stating  that  four-footed  animals  are  scarce, 
the  Peccari  must  be  excepted.  Three  or  four 
hundred  of  them  herd  together,  and  traverse  the 
wilds  in  all  directions,  in  quest  of  roots  and  fallen 
seeds.  The  Indians  mostly  shoot  them  with  poi- 
soned arrows.  When  wounded,  they  run  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  paces ;  they  then  drop,  and 
make  wholesome  food. 

The  Red  Monkey,  erroneously  called  the  ba- 
boon, is  heard  oftener  than  it  is  seen;  while  the 
common  Brown  Monkey,  the  Bisa,  and  Sacawinki, 
rove  from  tree  to  tree,  and  amuse  the  stranger  as 
he  journeys  on. 

A  species  of  the  Polecat,  and  another  of  the 
Fox,  are  destructive  to  the  Indian's  poultry;  while 
the  Opossum,  the  Guana,  and  Salempenta,  afford 
him  a  delicious  morsel. 

The  small  Ant-bear,  and  the  large  one,  remarka- 
ble for  his  long,  broad,  bushy  tail,  are  sometimes 
seen  on  the  tops  of  the  wood-ants'  nests;  the 
Armadillos  bore  in  the  sand-liills,  like  rabbits  in 


36      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

a  warren ;  and  the  Porcupine  is  now  and  then  dis- 
covered in  the  trees  over  your  head. 

This,  too,  is  the  native  country  of  the  Sloth. 
His  looks,  his  gestures,  and  his  cries,  all  conspire 
to  entreat  you  to  take  pity  on  him.  These  are  the 
only  weapons  of  defence  which  nature  hath  given 
him.  While  other  animals  assemble  in  herds,  or 
in  pairs  range  through  these  boundless  wilds,  the 
sloth  is  solitary,  and  almost  stationary ;  he  cannot 
escape  from  you.  It  is  said,  his  piteous  moans 
make  the  tiger  relent,  and  turn  out  of  the  way. 
Do  not  then  level  your  gun  at  him,  or  pierce  him 
with  a  poisoned  arrow ; — he  has  never  hurt  one  liv- 
ing creature.  A  few  leaves,  and  those  of  the  com- 
monest and  coarsest  kind,  are  all  he  asks  for  his 
support.  On  comparing  him  with  other  animals, 
you  would  say  that  you  could  perceive  deficiency, 
deformity,  and  superabundance  in  his  composi- 
tion. He  has  no  cutting  teeth,  and  though  four 
stomachs,  he  still  wants  the  long  intestines  of 
ruminating  animals.  He  has  only  one  inferior 
aperture,  as  in  birds.  He  has  no  soles  to  his  feet, 
nor  has  he  the  power  of  moving  his  toes  sepa- 
rately. His  hair  is  flat,  and  puts  you  in  mind  of 
grass  withered  by  the  wintry  blast.  His  legs  are 
too  short;  they  appear  deformed  by  the  manner 
in  which  they  are  joined  to  the  body;  and  when  he 
is  on  the  ground,  they  seem  as  if  only  calculated 
to  be  of  use  in  climbing  trees.  He  has  forty-six 
ribs,  while  the  elephant  has  only  forty;  and  his 
claws  are  disproportionably  long.  Were  you  to 
mark  down,  upon  a  graduated  scale,  the  different 
claims   to    superiority   amongst   the   four-footed 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       37 

animals,  this  poor,  ill-formed  creature's  claim 
would  be  the  last  upon  the  lowest  degree. 

Demerara  yields  to  no  country  in  the  world  in 
her  wonderful  and  beautiful  productions  of  the 
feathered  race.  Here  the  finest  precious  stones 
are  far  surpassed  by  the  vivid  tints  which  adorn 
the  birds.  The  naturalist  may  exclaim,  that  na- 
ture has  not  known  where  to  stop  in  forming  new 
species,  and  painting  her  requisite  shades.  Al- 
most every  one  of  those  singular  and  elegant  birds 
described  by  Buffon  as  belonging  to  Cayenne,  are 
to  be  met  with  in  Demerara;  but  it  is  only  by  an 
indefatigable  naturalist  that  they  are  to  be  found. 

The  Scarlet  Curlew  breeds  in  innumerable  quan- 
tities in  the  muddy  islands  on  the  coasts  of 
Pomauron;  the  Egrets  and  Crabiers.in  the  same 
place.  They  resort  to  the  mud-flats  at  ebbing 
water,  while  thousands  of  Sandpipers  and  Plovers, 
with  here  and  there  a  Spoonbill  and  Flamingo, 
are  seen  amongst  them.  The  Pelicans  go  farther 
out  to  sea,  but  return  at  sundown  to  the  Courada- 
trees.  The  Humming-birds  are  chiefly  to  be  found 
near  the  flowers  at  which  each  of  the  species  of 
the  genus  is  wont  to  feed.  The  pie,  the  gallina- 
ceous, the  columbine,  and  passerine  tribes,  resort 
to  the  fruit-bearing  trees. 

You  never  fail  to  see  the  common  Vulture  where 
there  is  carrion.  In  passing  up  the  river  there 
was  an  opportunity  of  seeing  a  pair  of  the  King 
of  the  Vultures;  they  were  sitting  on  the  naked 
branch  of  a  tree,  with  about  a  dozen  of  the  com- 
mon ones  with  them.  A  Tiger  had  killed  a  Goat 
the  day  before;  he  had  been  driven  away  in  the 
act  of  sucking  the  blood,  and  not  finding  it  safe 


'■:^.iji'^:'-±J.J>-3 


38       WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

or  prudent  to  return,  the  goat  remained  in  the 
same  place  where  he  had  killed  it ;  it  had  begun  to 
putrefy,  and  the  vultures  had  arrived  that  morn- 
ing to  claim  the  savoury  morsel. 

At  the  close  of  day,  the  Vampires  leave  the 
hollow  trees,  whither  they  had  fled  at  the  morn- 
ing's dawn,  and  scour  along  the  river's  banks  in 
quest  of  prey.  On  waking  from  sleep,  the  as- 
tonished traveller  finds  his  hammock  all  stained 
with  blood.  It  is  the  vampire  that  hath  sucked 
him.  Not  man  alone,  but  every  unprotected 
animal,  is  exposed  to  his  depredations:  and  so 
gently  does  this  nocturnal  surgeon  draw  the 
blood,  that  instead  of  being  roused,  the  patient  is 
lulled  into  a  still  profounder  sleep.  There  are 
two  species  of  vampire  in  Demerara,  and  both 
suck  living  animals ;  one  is  rather  larger  than  the 
common  bat;  the  other  measures  above  two  feet 
from  wing  to  wing  extended. 

Snakes  are  frequently  met  with  in  the  woods 
betwixt  the  sea-coast  and  the  rock  Saba,  chiefly 
near  the  creeks  and  on  the  banks  of  the  river. 
They  are  large,  beautiful,  and  formidable.  The 
Rattlesnake  seems  partial  to  a  tract  of  ground 
known  by  the  name  of  Canal  Number-three ;  there 
the  effects  of  his  poison  will  be  long  remembered. 

The  Camoudi  snake  has  been  killed  from  thirty 
to  forty  feet  long;  though  not  venomous,  his  size 
renders  him  destructive  to  the  passing  animals. 
The  Spaniards  in  the  Oroonoque  positively  affirm 
that  he  grows  to  the  length  of  seventy  or  eighty 
feet,  and  that  he  will  destroy  the  strongest  and 
largest  bull.  His  name  seems  to  confirm  this; 
there  he  is   called   ^'matatoro,"  which  literally 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       39 

means  ''bull-killer."  Thus  lie  may  be  ranked 
amongst  the  deadly  snakes;  for  it  comes  nearly 
to  the  same  thing  in  the  end,  whether  the  victim 
dies  by  poison  from  the  fangs,  which  corrupts  his 
blood  and  makes  it  stink  horribly,  or  whether  his 
body  be  crushed  to  mummy,  and  swallowed  by  this 
hideous  beast. 

The  Whipsnake,  of  a  beautiful  changing  green, 
and  the  Coral,  with  alternate  broad  transverse 
bars  of  black  and  red,  glide  from  bush  to  bush, 
and  may  be  handled  with  safety;  they  are  harm- 
less little  creatures. 

The  Labarri  snake  is  speckled,  of  a  dirty  brown 
colour,  and  can  scarcely  be  distinguished  from 
the  ground  or  stump  on  wliich  he  is  coiled  up ;  he 
grows  to  the  length  of  about  eight  feet,  and  his 
bite  often  proves  fatal  in  a  few  minutes. 

Unrivalled  in  his  display  of  every  lovely  colour 
of  the  rainbow,  and  unmatched  in  the  effects  of 
his  deadly  poison,  the  Couanacouchi  glides  un- 
daunted on,  sole  monarch  of  these  forests;  he  is 
commonly  known  by  the  name  of  the  bush-master. 
Both  man  and  beast  fly  before  him,  and  allow  him 
to  pursue  an  undisputed  path.  He  sometimes 
grows  to  the  length  of  fourteen  feet. 

A  few  small  Caimen,  from  two  to  twelve  feet 
long,  may  be  observed  now  and  then  in  passing 
up  and  down  the  river ;  they  just  keep  their  heads 
above  the  water,  and  a  stranger  would  not  know 
them  from  a  rotten  stump. 

Lizards  of  the  finest  green,  brown,  and  copper 
colour,  from  two  inches  to  two  feet  and  a  half 
long,  are  ever  and  anon  rustling  among  the  fallen 
leaves,  and  crossing  the  path  before  you;  whilst 


40      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AJMERICA 

the  Chameleon  is  busily  employed  in  chasing  in- 
sects round  the  trunks  of  the  neighbouring  trees. 

The  fish  are  of  many  different  sorts,  and  well- 
tasted,  but  not,  generally  speaking,  very  plentiful. 
It  is  probable  that  their  numbers  are  considerably 
thinned  by  the  Otters,  which  are  much  larger  than 
those  of  Europe.  In  going  through  the  over- 
flowed savannas,  which  have  all  a  communication 
with  the  river,  you  may  often  see  a  dozen  or  two 
of  them  sporting  amongst  the  sedges  before  you. 

This  warm  and  humid  climate  seems  particu- 
larly adapted  to  the  producing  of  insects ;  it  gives 
birth  to  myriads,  beautiful  past  description  in 
their  variety  of  tints,  astonishing  in  their  form 
and  size,  and  many  of  them  noxious  in  their 
qualities. 

He  whose  eye  can  distinguish  the  various  beau- 
ties of  uncultivated  nature,  and  whose  ear  is  not 
shut  to  the  wild  sounds  in  the  woods,  will  be  de- 
lighted in  passing  up  the  river  Demerara.  Every 
now  and  then,  the  Maam  or  Tinamou  sends  forth 
one  long  and  plaintive  whistle  from  the  depths  of 
the  forest,  and  then  stops;  whilst  the  yelping  of 
the  Toucan,  and  the  shrill  voice  of  the  bird  called 
Pi-pi-yo,  is  heard  during  the  interval.  The  Cam- 
panero  never  fails  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
passenger:  at  a  distance  of  nearly  three  miles,  you 
may  hear  this  snow-white  bird  tolling  every  four 
or  five  minutes,  like  the  distant  convent  bell. 
Prom  six  to  nine  in  the  morning,  the  forests  re- 
sound with  the  mingled  cries  and  strains  of  the 
feathered  race;  after  this,  they  gradually  die 
away.  From  eleven  to  three  all  nature  is  hushed 
as  in  a  midnight  silence,  and  scarce  a  note  is  heard, 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA      41 

saving  that  of  the  campanero  and  the  pi-pi-yo ;  it 
is  then  that,  oppressed  by  the  solar  heat,  the  birds 
retire  to  the  thickest  shade,  and  wait  for  the 
refreshing  cool  of  evening. 

At  sundown  the  Vampires,  Bats,  and  Goat- 
suckers dart  from  their  lonely  retreat,  and  skim 
along  the  trees  on  the  river's  bank.  The  different 
kinds  of  Frogs  almost  stun  the  ear  with  their 
coarse  and  hollow-sounding  croaking,  while  the 
Owls  and  goat-suckers  lament  and  mourn  all  night 
long. 

About  two  hours  before  daybreak,  you  will  hear 
the  red  monkey  moaning  as  though  in  deep  dis- 
tress ;  the  Houtou,  a  solitary  bird,  and  only  found 
in  the  thickest  recesses  of  the  forest,  distinctly 
articulates,  "houtou,  houtou,"  in  a  low  and  plain- 
tive tone,  an  hour  before  sunrise ;  the  maam  whis- 
tles about  the  same  hour ;  the  Hannaquoi,  Pataca, 
and  Maroudi  announce  his  near  approach  to  the 
eastern  horizon,  and  the  Parrots  and  Paroquets 
confirm  his  arrival  there. 

The  Crickets  chirp  from  sunset  to  sunrise,  and 
often  during  the  day,  when  the  weather  is  cloudy. 
The  Bete-rouge  is  exceedingly  numerous  in  these 
extensive  wilds,  and  not  only  man,  but  beasts  and 
birds,  are  tormented  by  it.  Mosquitos  are  very 
rare  after  you  pass  the  third  island  in  the  Deme- 
rara,  and  Sand-flies  but  seldom  appear. 

Courteous  reader,  here  thou  hast  the  outlines 
of  an  amazing  landscape  given  thee ;  thou  wilt  see 
that  the  principal  parts  of  it  are  but  faintly 
traced,  some  of  them  scarcely  visible  at  all,  and 
that  the  shades  are  wholly  wanting.  If  thy  soul 
partakes  of  the  ardent  flame  which  the  persevering 


42      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AJMERICA 

Mungo  Park's  did,  these  outlines  will  be  enough 
for  thee :  they  will  give  thee  some  idea  of  what  a 
noble  country  this  is ;  and  if  thou  hast  but  courage 
to  set  about  giving  the  world  a  finished  picture 
of  it,  neither  materials  to  work  on,  nor  colours  to 
paint  it  in  its  true  shades,  will  be  wanting  to  thee. 
It  may  appear  a  difficult  task  at  a  distance;  but 
look  close  at  it,  and  it  is  nothing  at  all ;  provided 
thou  hast  but  a  quiet  mind,  little  more  is  neces- 
sary, and  the  genius  which  presides  over  these 
wilds  will  kindly  help  thee  through  the  rest.  She 
will  allow  thee  to  slay  the  fawn,  and  cut  down  the 
Mountain-cabbage  for  thy  support,  and  to  select 
from  every  part  of  her  domain  whatever  may  be 
necessary  for  the  work  thou  art  about ;  but  having 
killed  a  pair  of  Doves  in  order  to  enable  thee  to 
give  mankind  a  true  and  proper  description  of 
them,  thou  must  not  destroy  a  third  through  wan- 
tonness, or  to  show  what  a  good  marksman  thou 
art;  that  would  only  blot  the  picture  thou  art 
finishing,  not  colour  it. 

Though  retired  from  the  haunts  of  men,  and 
even  without  a  friend  with  thee,  thou  wouldst  not 
find  it  solitary.  The  crowing  of  the  Hannaquoi 
will  sound  in  thine  ears  like  the  daybreak  town- 
clock;  and  the  Wren  and  the  Thrush  will  join  with 
thee  in  thy  matin  hymn  to  thy  Creator,  to  thank 
Him  for  thy  night's  rest. 

At  noon  thy  Genius  will  lead  thee  to  the  Troely, 
one  leaf  of  which  will  defend  thee  from  both  sun 
and  rain.  And  if,  in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  thou 
hast  been  tempted  to  stray  too  far  from  thy  place 
of  abode,  and  art  deprived  of  light  to  write  down 
the  information  thou  hast  collected,  the  Firefly, 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA      43 

which  thou  wilt  see  in  almost  every  bush  around 
thee,  will  be  thy  candle.  Hold  it  over  thy  pocket 
book,  in  any  position  which  thou  knowest  will  not 
hurt  it,  and  it  will  afford  thee  ample  light.  And 
when  thou  hast  done  with  it,  put  it  kindly  back 
again  on  the  next  branch  to  thee.  It  will  want  no 
other  reward  for  its  services. 

When  in  thy  hammock,  should  the  thought  of 
thy  little  crosses  and  disappointments,  in  thy  ups 
and  downs  through  life,  break  in  upon  thee,  and 
throw  thee  into  a  pensive  mood,  the  Owl  will  bear 
thee  company.  She  will  tell  thee  that  hard  has 
been  her  fate  too;  and  at  intervals,  '^Whip-poor- 
Will,"  and  "Willy  come  go,"  will  take  up  the  tale 
of  sorrow.  Ovid  has  told  thee  how  the  owl  once 
boasted  the  human  form,  and  lost  it  for  a  very 
small  offence;  and  were  the  poet  alive  now,  he 
would  inform  thee,  that  "Whip-poor- Will,"  and 
"Willy  come  go,"  are  the  shades  of  those  poor  Af- 
rican and  Indian  slaves,  who  died  worn  out  and 
broken-hearted.  They  wail  and  cry,  "Whip-poor- 
Will,"  and  "Willy  come  go,"  all  night  long;  and 
often,  when  the  moon  shines,  you  see  them  sitting 
on  the  green  turf,  near  the  houses  of  those  whose 
ancestors  tore  them  from  the  bosom  of  their  help- 
less families,  which  all  probably  perished  through 
grief  and  want,  after  their  support  was  gone. 

About  an  hour  above  the  rock  of  Saba,  stands 
the  habitation  of  an  Indian,  called  Simon,  on  the 
top  of  a  hill.  The  side  next  the  river  is  almost 
perpendicular,  and  you  may  easily  throw  a  stone 
over  to  the  opposite  bank.  Here  there  was  an  op- 
portunity of  seeing  man  in  his  rudest  state.  The 
Indians  who  frequented  this  habitation,  though 


44      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

living'  in  the  midst  of  woods,  bore  evident  marks 
of  attention  to  their  persons.  Their  hair  was 
neatly  collected,  and  tied  up  in  a  knot;  their 
bodies  fancifully  painted  red,  and  the  paint  was 
scented  with  hayawa.  This  gave  them  a  gay  and 
animated  appearance.  Some  of  them  had  on  neck- 
laces, composed  of  the  teeth  of  wild  boars  slain 
in  the  chase ;  many  wore  rings,  and  others  had  an 
ornament  on  the  left  arm,  midway  betwixt  the 
shoulder  and  the  elbow.  At  the  close  of  day 
they  regularly  bathed  in  the  river  below ;  and  the 
next  morning  seemed  busy  in  renewing  the  faded 
colours  of  their  faces. 

One  day  there  came  into  the  hut  a  form  which 
literally  might  be  called  the  wild  man  of  the 
woods.  On  entering,  he  laid  down  a  ball  of  wax, 
which  he  had  collected  in  the  forest.  His  ham- 
mock was  all  ragged  and  torn;  and  his  bow, 
though  of  good  wood,  was  without  any  ornament 
or  polish;  ''erubuit  domino,  cultior  esse  suo." 
His  face  was  meagre,  his  looks  forbidding,  and  his 
whole  appearance  neglected.  His  long  black  hair 
hung  from  his  head  in  matted  confusion ;  nor  had 
his  body,  to  all  appearance,  ever  been  painted. 
They  gave  him  some  Cassava  bread  and  boiled 
fish,  which  he  ate  voraciously,  and  soon  after  left 
the  hut.  As  he  went  out  you  could  observe  no 
traces  in  his  countenance  or  demeanor,  which 
indicated  that  he  was  in  the  least  mindful  of  hav- 
ing been  benefited  by  the  society  he  was  just 
leaving. 

The  Indians  said  that  he  had  neither  wife,  nor 
child,  nor  friend.  They  had  often  tried  to  per- 
suade him  to  come  and  live  amongst  them;  but  it 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA      45 

was  of  no  avail.  He  went  roving  on,  plundering 
the  "Wild  Bees  of  their  honey,  and  picking  up  the 
fallen  nuts  and  fruits  of  the  forest.  When  he  fell 
in  with  game,  he  procured  fire  from  two  sticks, 
and  cooked  it  on  the  spot.  When  a  hut  happened 
to  be  in  his  way,  he  stepped  in,  and  asked  for 
something  to  eat,  and  then  months  elapsed  ere 
they  saw  him  again.  They  did  not  know  what 
had  caused  him  to  be  thus  unsettled ;  he  had  been 
so  for  years;  nor  did  they  believe  that  even  old 
age  itself  would  change  the  habits  of  this  poor, 
harmless,  solitary  wanderer. 

From  Simon's,  the  traveller  may  reach  the 
large  fall,  with  ease,  in  four  days. 

The  first  falls  that  he  meets  are  merely  rapids, 
scarce  a  stone  appearing  above  the  water  in  the 
rainy  season;  and  those  in  the  bed  of  the  river, 
barely  high  enough  to  arrest  the  water's  course, 
and  by  causing  a  bubbling,  show  that  they  are 
there. 

With  this  small  change  of  appearance  in  the 
stream,  the  stranger  observes  nothing  new  till 
he  comes  within  eight  or  ten  miles  of  the  great 
fall.  Each  side  of  the  river  presents  an  uninter- 
rupted range  of  wood,  just  as  it  did  below.  All 
the  productions  found  betwixt  the  plantations  and 
the  rock  Saba,  are  to  be  met  with  here. 

From  Simon's  to  the  great  fall  there  are  five 
habitations  of  the  Indians — two  of  them  close  to 
the  river's  side;  the  other  three  a  little  way  in 
the  forest.  These  habitations  consist  of  from  four 
to  eight  huts,  situated  on  about  an  acre  of  ground 
which  they  have  cleared  from  the  surrounding 


46       WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

woods.  A  few  Pappaw,  Cotton,  and  mountain 
cabbage-trees,  are  scattered  round  them. 

At  one  of  these  habitations  a  small  quantity  of 
the  Wourali-poison  was  procured.  It  was  in  a 
little  gourd.  The  Indian  who  had  it  said  that  he 
had  killed  a  number  of  Wild  Hogs  with  it,  and 
two  Tapirs.  Appearances  seemed  to  confirm  what 
he  said;  for  on  one  side  it  had  been  nearly 
taken  out  to  the  bottom,  at  different  times,  which 
probably  would  not  have  been  the  case  had  the 
first  or  second  trial  failed. 

Its  strength  was  proved  on  a  middle-sized  dog. 
He  was  wounded  in  the  thigh,  in  order  that  there 
might  be  no  possibility  of  touching  a  vital  part. 
In  three  or  four  minutes  he  began  to  be  affected, 
smelt  at  every  little  thing  on  the  ground  around 
him,  and  looked  wistfully  at  the  wounded  part. 
Soon  after  this  he  staggered,  laid  himself  down, 
and  never  rose  more.  He  barked  once,  though 
not  as  if  in  pain.  His  voice  was  low  and  weak; 
and  in  a  second  attempt  it  quite  failed  him.  He 
now  put  his  head  betwixt  his  fore-legs,  and  rais- 
ing it  slowly  again,  he  fell  over  on  his  side.  His 
eye  immediately  became  fixed,  and  though  his 
extremities  every  now  and  then  shot  convulsively, 
he  never  showed  the  least  desire  to  raise  up  his 
head.  His  heart  fluttered  much  from  the  time  he 
lay  down,  and  at  intervals  beat  very  strong;  then 
stopped  for  a  moment  or  two,  and  then  beat 
again;  and  continued  faintly  beating  several 
minutes  after  every  other  part  of  his  body  seemed 
dead. 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after  he  had  received 
the  poison  he  was  quite  motionless. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       47 

A  few  miles  before  you  reach  the  great  fall,  and 
"which,  indeed,  is  the  only  one  which  can  be  called 
a  fall,  large  balls  of  froth  come  floating  past  you. 
The  river  appears  beautifully  marked  with  streaks 
of  foam,  and  on  your  nearer  approach  the  stream 
is  whitened  all  over. 

At  first,  you  behold  the  fall  rushing  down  a  bed 
of  rocks,  with  a  tremendous  noise,  divided  into 
two  foamy  streams,  wliich  at  their  junction  again 
form  a  small  island  covered  with  wood.  Above 
this  island,  for  a  short  space,  there  appears  but 
one  stream,  all  white  with  froth,  and  fretting  and 
boiling  amongst  the  huge  rocks  which  obstruct  its 
course. 

Higher  up  it  is  seen  dividing  itself  into  a  short 
channel  or  two,  and  trees  grow  on  the  rocks  which 
caused  its  separation.  The  torrent  in  many 
places  has  eaten  deep  into  the  rocks,  and  split 
them  into  large  fragments  by  driving  others 
against  them.  The  trees  on  the  rocks  are  in 
bloom  and  vigour,  though  their  roots  are  half 
bared,  and  many  of  them  bruised  and  broken  by 
the  rushing  waters. 

This  is  the  general  appearance  of  the  fall  from 
the  level  of  the  water  below  to  where  the  river  is 
smooth  and  quiet  above.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  this  is  during  the  periodical  rains.  Probably 
in  the  dry  season  it  puts  on  a  very  different  ap- 
pearance. There  is  no  perpendicular  fall  of  water 
of  any  consequence  throughout  it,  but  the  dreadful 
roaring  and  rushing  of  the  torrent  down  a  long, 
rocky,  and  moderately  sloping  channel,  has  a  fine 
effect;  and  the  stranger  returns  well  pleased 
with  what  he  has  seen.    No  animal,  nor  craft  of 


48      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  .\.AIERICA 

any  kind,  could  stem  this  downward  flood.  In  a 
few  moments  the  first  would  be  killed,  the  second 
dashed  in  pieces. 

The  Indians  have  a  path  alongside  of  it,  through 
the  forest,  where  prodigious  Crabwood-trees 
grow.  Up  this  path  they  drag  their  canoes,  and 
launch  them  into  the  river  above;  and  on  their 
return  bring  them  down  the  same  way. 

About  two  hours  below  this  fall  is  the  habita- 
tion of  an  Acoway  chief  called  Sinkerman.  At 
night  you  hear  the  roaring  of  the  fall  from  it.  It 
is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  top  of  a  sand-hill. 
At  this  place  you  have  the  finest  view  the  river 
Demerara  affords:  three  tiers  of  hills  rise  in 
slow  gradation,  one  above  the  other,  before  you, 
and  present  a  grand  and  magnificent  scene,  espec- 
ially to  him  who  has  been  accustomed  to  a  level 
country. 

Here,  a  little  after  midnight  on  the  first  of  May, 
was  heard  a  most  strange  and  unaccountable 
noise;  it  seemed  as  though  several  regiments 
were  engaged,  and  musketry  firing  with  great 
rapidity.  The  Indians,  terrified  beyond  descrip- 
tion, left  their  hammocks,  and  crowded  all  to- 
gether, like  sheep  at  the  approach  of  the  wolf. 
There  were  no  soldiers  within  three  or  four  hun- 
dred miles.  Conjecture  was  of  no  avail,  and  all 
conversation  next  morning  on  the  subject  was  as 
useless  and  unsatisfactory  as  the  dead  silence 
which  succeeded  to  the  noise. 

He  who  wishes  to  reach  the  Macoushi  country 
had  better  send  his  canoe  over  land  from  Sinker- 
man's  to  the  Essequibo. 

There  is  a  pretty  good  path,  and  meeting  a 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       49 

creek  about  three-quarters  of  the  way,  it  eases  the 
labour,  and  twelve  Indians  will  arrive  with  it  in 
the  Essequibo  in  four  days. 

The  traveller  need  not  attend  his  canoe ;  there 
is  a  shorter  and  a  better  way.  Half  an  hour  below 
Sinkerman's  he  finds  a  little  creek  on  the  western 
bank  of  the  Demerara.  After  proceeding  about 
a  couple  of  hundred  yards  up  it,  he  leaves  it, 
and  pursues  a  west-north-west  direction  by  land 
for  the  Essequibo.  The  path  is  good,  though 
somewhat  rugged  with  the  roots  of  trees,  and 
here  and  there  obstructed  by  fallen  ones;  it  ex- 
tends more  over  level  ground  than  otherwise. 
There  are  a  few  steep  ascents  and  descents  in  it, 
with  a  little  brook  running  at  the  bottom  of  them; 
but  they  are  easily  passed  over,  and  the  fallen 
trees  serve  for  a  bridge. 

You  may  reach  the  Essequibo  with  ease  in  a  day 
and  a  half ;  and  so  matted  and  interwoven  are  the 
tops  of  the  trees  above  you  that  the  sun  is  not 
felt  once  all  the  way,  saving  where  the  space  which 
a  newly-fallen  tree  occupied  lets  in  his  rays  upon 
you.  The  forest  contains  an  abundance  of  Wild 
Hogs,  Labbas,  Acouries,  Powisses,  Maams,  Ma- 
roudis,  and  Waracabas,  for  your  nourishment, 
and  there  are  plenty  of  leaves  to  cover  a  shed 
whenever  you  are  inclined  to  sleep. 

The  soil  has  three-fourths  of  sand  in  it,  till  you 
come  within  half  an  hour's  walk  of  the  Essequibo, 
where  you  find  a  red  gravel  and  rocks.  In  this 
retired  and  solitary  tract,  nature's  garb,  to  all 
appearance,  has  not  been  injured  by  fire,  nor  her 
productions  broken  in  upon  by  the  exterminating 
hand  of  man. 

4 


50      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

Here  the  finest  Green-heart  grows,  and  Wal- 
laba,  Purple-heart,  Siloabali,  Sawari,  Buletre, 
Tauronira,  and  Mora,  are  met  with  in  vast  abun- 
dance, far  and  near,  towering  up  in  majestic  gran- 
deur, straight  as  pillars,  sixty  or  seventy  feet 
high,  without  a  knot  or  branch. 

Traveller,  forget  for  a  little  while  the  idea  thou 
hast  of  wandering  farther  on,  and  stop  and  look 
at  this  grand  picture  of  vegetable  nature ;  it  is  a 
reflection  of  the  crowd  thou  hast  lately  been  in,  and 
though  a  silent  monitor,  it  is  not  a  less  eloquent 
one  on  that  account.  See  that  noble  Purple-heart 
before  thee!  Nature  has  been  kind  to  it.  Not  a 
hole,  not  the  least  oozing  from  its  trunk,  to  show 
that  its  best  days  are  pasto  Vigorous  in  youthful 
blooming  beauty,  it  stands  the  ornament  of  these 
sequestered  wilds,  and  tacitly  rebukes  those  base 
ones  of  tliine  own  species  who  have  been  hardy 
enough  to  deny  the  existence  of  Him  who  ordered 
it  to  flourish  here. 

Behold  that  one  next  to  it! — Hark!  how  the 
hammerings  of  the  Red-headed  Woodpecker  re- 
sound through  its  distempered  boughs !  See  what 
a  quantity  of  holes  he  has  made  in  it,  and  how  its 
bark  is  stained  with  the  drops  which  trickle  down 
from  them.  The  lightning,  too,  has  blasted  one 
side  of  it.  Nature  looks  pale  and  wan  in  its 
leaves,  and  her  resources  are  nearly  dried  up  in 
its  extremities ;  its  sap  is  tainted ;  a  mortal  sick- 
ness, slow  as  a  consumption,  and  as  sure  in  its 
consequences,  has  long  since  entered  its  frame,  vi- 
tiating and  destroying  the  wholesome  juices  there. 

Step  a  few  paces  aside,  and  cast  thine  eye  on 
that  remnant  of  a  Mora  behind  it.    Best  part  of  its 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA      51 

branches,  once  so  high  and  ornamental,  now  lie 
on  the  ground  in  sad  confusion  one  upon  the 
other,  all  shattered  and  fungus-grown,  and  a  prey- 
to  millions  of  insects,  which  are  busily  employed 
in  destroying  them.  One  branch  of  it  still  looks 
healthy!  Will  it  recover?  No,  it  cannot;  nature 
has  already  run  her  course,  and  that  healthy-look- 
ing branch  is  only  as  a  fallacious  good  symptom  in 
him  who  is  just  about  to  die  of  a  mortification 
when  he  feels  no  more  pain,  and  fancies  his  dis- 
temper has  left  him ;  it  is  as  the  momentary  gleam 
of  a  wintry  sun's  ray  close  to  the  western  horizon. 
— See !  while  we  are  speaking,  a  gust  of  wind  has 
brought  the  tree  to  the  ground,  and  made  room 
for  its  successor. 

Come  further  on,  and  examine  that  apparently 
luxuriant  Tauronira  on  thy  right  hand.  It  boasts 
a  verdure  not  its  own ;  they  are  false  ornaments 
it  wears;  the  Bush-rope  and  Bird- vines  have 
clothed  it  from  the  root  to  its  topmost  branch. 
The  succession  of  fruit  which  it  hath  borne,  like 
good  cheer  in  the  houses  of  the  great,  has  invited 
the  birds  to  resort  to  it,  and  they  have  dissemi- 
nated beautiful,  though  destructive,  plants  on  its 
branches,  which,  like  the  distempers  vice  brings 
into  the  human  frame,  rob  it  of  all  its  health  and 
vigour ;  they  have  shortened  its  days,  and  proba- 
bly in  another  year  they  will  finally  kill  it,  long 
before  nature  intended  that  it  should  die. 

Ere  thou  leavest  this  interesting  scene,  look  on 
the  ground  around  thee,  and  see  what  everything 
here  below  must  come  to. 

Behold  that  newly  fallen  Wallaba!  The  whirl- 
wind has  uprooted  it  in  its  prime,  and  it  has 


52      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

brought  down  to  the  ground  a  dozen  small  ones  in 
its  fall.  Its  bark  has  already  begun  to  drop  off! 
And  that  heart  of  Mora  close  by  it  is  fast  yielding, 
in  spite  of  its  firm,  tough  texture. 

The  tree  which  thou  passedst  but  a  little  ago, 
and  which  perhaps  has  lain  over  yonder  brook  for 
years,  can  now  hardly  support  itself,  and  in  a 
few  months  more  it  will  have  fallen  into  the  water. 

Put  thy  foot  on  that  large  trunk  thou  seest  to 
the  left.  It  seems  entire  amid  the  surrounding 
fragments.  Mere  outward  appearance,  delusive 
phantom  of  what  it  once  was!  Tread  on  it,  and 
like  the  fuss-ball,  it  will  break  into  dust. 

Sad  and  silent  mementos  to  the  giddy  traveller 
as  he  wanders  on!  Prostrate  remnants  of  vege- 
table nature,  how  incontestably  ye  prove  what  we 
must  all  at  last  come  to,  and  how  plain  your 
mouldering  ruins  show  that  the  firmest  texture 
avails  us  nought  when  Heaven  wills  that  we 
should  cease  to  be !  — 

"The  cloiid-capt  towers,   the  gorgeous  palaces, 
The  solemn  temples,  the  great  globe  itself, 
iYea,  all  which  it  inhabit,  shall  dissolve, 
And,  like  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision, 
Leave  not  a  wrack  behind."* 

Cast  thine  eye  around  thee,  and  see  the  thou- 
sands of  nature's  productions.  Take  a  view  of 
them  from  the  opening  seed  on  the  surface,  send- 
ing a  downward  shoot,  to  the  loftiest  and  the 
largest  trees,  rising  up  and  blooming  in  wild  lux- 
uriance ;  some  side  by  side,  others  separate ;  some 
curved  and  knotty,  others  straight  as  lances ;  all, 
in  beautiful  gradation,  fulfilling  the  mandates 
they  had  received  from  Heaven,  and  though  con- 

*A  curious  misquotation  of  the  author's.  See  The  Tempest, 
Act  IV,  Sc.  I. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA      53 

demned  to  die,  still  never  failing  to  keep  up  their 
species  till  time  shall  be  no  more. 

Eeader,  canst  thou  not  be  induced  to  dedicate 
a  few  months  to  the  good  of  the  public,  and  exam- 
ine with  thy  scientific  eye  the  productions  which 
the  vast  and  well-stored  colony  of  Demerara  pre- 
sents to  thee? 

What  an  immense  range  of  forest  is  there  from 
the  rock  Saba  to  the  great  fall !  and  what  an  un- 
interrupted extent  before  thee  from  it  to  the  banks 
of  the  Essequibo !  No  doubt,  there  is  many  a  bal- 
sam and  many  a  medicinal  root  yet  to  be  discov- 
ered, and  many  a  resin,  gum,  and  oil  yet  un- 
noticed. Thy  work  would  be  a  pleasing  one,  and 
thou  mightest  make  several  useful  observations 
in  it. 

Would  it  be  thought  impertinent  in  thee  to 
hazard  a  conjecture,  that  with  the  resources  the 
government  of  Demerara  has,  stones  might  be 
conveyed  from  the  rock  Saba  to  Stabroek,  to  stem 
the  equinoctial  tides,  which  are  for  ever  sweeping 
away  the  expensive  wooden  piles  round  the 
mounds  of  the  fort?  Or  would  the  timber-mer- 
chant point  at  thee  in  passing  by,  and  call  thee  a 
descendant  of  La  Mancha's  knight,  because  thou 
maintainest  that  the  stones  which  form  the  rapids 
might  be  removed  with  little  expense,  and  thus 
open  the  navigation  to  the  wood-cutter  from  Sta- 
broek to  the  great  fall?  Or  wouldst  thou  be 
deemed  enthusiastic  or  biassed,  because  thou 
givest  it  as  thy  opinion  that  the  climate  in  these 
high  lands  is  exceedingly  wholesome,  and  the 
lands  themselves  capable  of  nourishing  and  main- 
taining any  number  of  settlers?     In  thy  disser- 


54      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

tation  on  the  Indians,  thou  mightest  hint,  that 
possibly  they  could  be  induced  to  help  the  new 
settlers  a  little ;  and  that  finding  their  labours  well 
requited,  it  would  be  the  means  of  their  keeping 
up  a  constant  communication  with  us,  which  prob- 
ably might  be  the  means  of  laying  the  first  stone 
towards  their  Christianity.  They  are  a  poor, 
harmless,  inoffensive  set  of  people,  and  their 
wandering  and  ill-provided  way  of  living  seems 
more  to  ask  for  pity  from  us,  than  to  fill  our 
heads  with  thoughts  that  they  would  be  hostile  to 
us. 

What  a  noble  field,  kind  reader,  for  thy  experi- 
mental philosophy  and  speculations,  for  thy 
learning,  for  thy  perseverance,  for  thy  kind-heart- 
edness, for  everything  that  is  great  and  good 
within  thee! 

The  accidental  traveller  who  has  journeyed  on 
from  Stabroek  to  the  rock  Saba,  and  from  thence 
to  the  banks  of  the  Essequibo,  in  pursuit  of  other 
things,  as  he  told  thee  at  the  beginning,  with  but 
an  indifferent  interpreter  to  talk  to,  no  friend  to 
converse  with,  and  totally  unfit  for  that  which  he 
wishes  thee  to  do,  can  merely  mark  the  outlines 
of  the  path  he  has  trodden,  or  tell  thee  the  sounds 
he  has  heard,  or  faintly  describe  what  he  has  seen 
in  the  environs  of  his  resting-places;  but  if  this 
be  enough  to  induce  thee  to  undertake  the  jour- 
ney, and  give  the  world  a  description  of  it,  he  will 
be  amply  satisfied. 

It  will  be  two  days  and  a  half  from  the  time  of 
entering  the  path  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Dem- 
erara  till  all  be  ready,  and  the  canoe  fairly  afloat 
on  the  Essequibo.    The  new  rigging  it,  and  put- 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       55 

ting  every  little  thing  to  rights  and  in  its  proper 
place,  cannot  well  be  done  in  less  than  a  day. 

After  being  night  and  day  in  the  forest  imper- 
vious to  the  sun's  and  moon's  rays  the  sudden 
transition  to  light  has  a  fine  heart-cheering  effect. 
"Welcome  as  a  lost  friend,  the  solar  beam  makes 
the  frame  rejoice,  and  with  it  a  thousand  enliven- 
ing thoughts  rush  at  once  on  the  soul,  and  dis- 
perse, as  a  vapour,  every  sad  and  sorrowful  idea 
which  the  deep  gloom  had  helped  to  collect  there. 
In  coming  out  of  tlie  woods,  you  see  the  western 
bank  of  the  Essequibo  before  you,  low  and  flat. 
Here  the  river  is  two-thirds  as  broad  as  the  Dem- 
erara  at  Stabroek. 

To  the  northward  there  is  a  hill  higher  than  any 
in  the  Demerara;  and  in  the  south-south-west 
quarter  a  mountain.  It  is  far  away,  and  appears 
like  a  bluish  cloud  in  the  horizon.  There  is  not 
the  least  opening  on  either  side.  Hills,  valleys, 
and  lowlands,  are  all  linked  together  by  a  chain  of 
forest.  Ascend  the  highest  mountain,  climb  the 
loftiest  tree,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  extend,  which- 
ever way  it  directs  itself,  all  is  luxuriant  and  un- 
broken forest. 

In  about  nine  or  ten  hours  from  this,  you  get 
to  an  Indian  habitation  of  three  huts,  on  the  point 
of  an  island.  It  is  said  that  a  Dutch  post  once 
stood  here.  But  there  is  not  the  smallest  vestige 
of  it  remaining,  and,  except  that  the  trees  appear 
younger  than  those  on  the  other  islands,  which 
shows  that  the  place  has  been  cleared  some  time 
or  other,  there  is  no  mark  left  by  which  you  can 
conjecture  that  ever  this  was  a  post. 

The  many  islands  which  you  meet  with  in  the 


56      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

way,  enliven  and  change  the  scene,  by  the  avenues 
which  they  make,  which  look  like  the  mouths  of 
other  rivers,  and  break  that  long-extended  same- 
ness which  is  seen  in  the  Demerara. 

Proceeding  onwards,  you  get  to  the  falls  and 
rapids.  In  the  rainy  season  they  are  very  tedious 
to  pass,  and  often  stop  your  course.  In  the  dry 
season,  by  stepping  from  rock  to  rock,  the  Indians 
soon  manage  to  get  a  canoe  over  them.  But  when 
the  river  is  swollen,  as  it  was  in  May,  1812,  it  is 
then  a  difficult  task,  and  often  a  dangerous  one 
too.  At  that  time  many  of  the  islands  were  over- 
flowed, the  rocks  covered,  and  the  lower  branches 
of  the  trees  in  the  water.  Sometimes  the  Indians 
were  obliged  to  take  everything  out  of  the  canoe, 
cut  a  passage  through  the  branches,  which  hung 
over  into  the  river,  and  then  drag  up  the  canoe  by 
main  force. 

At  one  place,  the  falls  form  an  oblique  line  quite 
across  the  river,  impassable  to  the  ascending 
canoe,  and  you  are  forced  to  have  it  dragged  four 
or  five  hundred  yards  by  land. 

It  will  take  you  five  days,  from  the  Indian  habi- 
tation, on  the  point  of  the  island,  to  where  these 
falls  and  rapids  terminate. 

There  are  no  huts  in  the  way.  You  must  bring 
your  own  cassava-bread  along  with  you,  hunt  in 
the  forest  for  your  meat,  and  make  the  night's 
shelter  for  yourself. 

Here  is  a  noble  range  of  hills,  all  covered  with 
the  finest  trees,  rising  majestically  one  above  the 
other,  on  the  western  bank,  and  presenting  as  rich 
a  scene  as  ever  the  eye  would  wish  to  look  on. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA      57 

Nothing  in  vegetable  nature  can  be  conceived 
more  charming,  grand,  and  luxuriant. 

How  the  heart  rejoices  in  viewing  this  beautiful 
landscape!  when  the  sky  is  serene,  the  air  cool, 
and  the  sun  just  sunk  behind  the  mountain's  top. 

The  Hayawa-tree  perfumes  the  woods  around; 
pairs  of  Scarlet  Aras  are  continually  crossing  the 
river.  The  Maam  sends  forth  its  plaintive  note, 
the  Wren  chants  its  evening  song.  The  Caprimul- 
gus  wheels  in  busy  flight  around  the  canoe,  while 
''Whip-poor- Will"  sits  on  the  broken  stump  near 
the  water's  edge,  complaining  as  the  shades  of 
night  set  in. 

A  little  before  you  pass  the  last  of  these  rapids 
two  immense  rocks  appear,  nearly  on  the  summit 
of  one  of  the  many  hills  which  form  this  far-ex- 
tending range,  where  it  begins  to  fall  off  grad- 
ually to  the  south. 

They  look  like  two  ancient  stately  towers  of 
some  Gothic  potentate,  rearing  their  heads  above 
the  surrounding  trees.  What  with  their  situation 
and  their  shai^e  together,  they  strike  the  beholder 
with  an  idea  of  antiquated  grandeur  which  he  will 
never  forget.  He  may  travel  far  and  near  and  see 
nothing  like  them.  On  looking  at  them  through  a 
glass,  the  summit  of  the  southern  one  appeared 
crowned  with  bushes.  The  one  to  the  north  was 
.quite  bare.  The  Indians  have  it  from  their  an- 
cestors that  they  are  the  abode  of  an  evil  genius, 
and  they  pass  in  the  river  below  with  a  reverential 
awe. 

In  about  seven  hours  from  these  stupendous 
sons  of  the  hill,  you  leave  the  Essequibo,  and  enter 
the  river  Apourapoura,  which  falls  into  it  from  the 


58      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AINIERICA 

south.  The  Apourapoura  is  nearly  one- third  the 
size  of  the  Demerara  at  Stabroek.  For  two 
days  you  see  nothing  but  level  ground,  richly 
clothed  in  timber.  You  leave  the  Siparouni  to  the 
right  hand,  and  on  the  third  day  come  to  a  little 
hill.  The  Indians  have  cleared  about  an  acre  of 
ground  on  it,  and  erected  a  temporary  shed.  If 
it  be  not  intended  for  provision-ground  alone, 
perhaps  the  next  white  man  who  travels  through 
these  remote  wilds  will  find  an  Indian  settlement 
here. 

Two  days  after  leaving  this,  you  get  to  a  rising 
ground  on  the  western  bank,  where  stands  a  sin- 
gle hut ;  and  about  half  a  mile  in  the  forest  there 
are  a  few  more;  some  of  them  square,  and  some 
round  with  spiral  roofs. 

Here  the  fish  called  Pacou  is  very  plentiful :  it 
is  perhaps  the  fattest  and  most  delicious  fish  in 
Guiana.  It  does  not  take  the  hook,  but  the  Indians 
decoy  it  to  the  surface  of  the  water  by  means  of 
the  seeds  of  the  Crabwood-tree,  and  then  shoot  it 
with  an  arrow. 

You  are  now  within  the  borders  of  Macoushia, 
inhabited  by  a  different  tribe  of  people,  called 
Macoushi  Indians;  uncommonly  dexterous  in  the 
use  of  the  blow-pipe,  and  famous  for  their  skill 
in  preparing  the  deadly  vegetable  poison,  com- 
monly called  Wourali. 

It  is  from  this  country  that  those  beautiful  paro- 
quets named  Kessi-kessi  are  procured.  Here  the 
crystal  mountains  are  found;  and  here  the  three 
different  species  of  the  Ara  are  seen  in  great 
abundance.  Here,  too,  grows  the  tree  from  which 
the  gum-elastic  is  got:  it  is  large,  and  as  tall  as 


i  i^Viijfi^^mi^vi-i~ 


The  Cock  of  the  Rock 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       59 

any  in  the  forest.  The  wood  has  much  the  ap- 
pearance of  sycamore.  The  gum  is  contained  in 
the  bark:  when  that  is  cut  through,  it  oozes  out 
very  freely :  it  is  quite  white,  and  looks  as  rich  as 
cream :  it  hardens  almost  immediately  as  it  issues 
from  the  tree ;  so  that  it  is  very  easy  to  collect  a 
ball,  by  forming  the  juice  into  a  globular  shape  as 
fast  as  it  comes  out:  it  becomes  nearly  black  by 
being  exposed  to  the  air,  and  is  real  India-rubber 
without  undergoing  any  process. 

The  elegant  crested  bird  called  Cock  of  the  Eock, 
admirably  described  by  Buffon,  is  a  native  of  the 
woody  mountains  of  Macoushia.  In  the  daytime, 
he  retires  amongst  the  darkest  rocks,  and  only 
comes  out  to  feed  a  little  before  sunrise,  and  at 
sunset:  he  is  of  a  gloomy  disposition,  and,  like 
the  Houtou,  never  associates  with  the  other  birds 
of  the  forest. 

The  Indians,  in  the  just-mentioned  settlement, 
seemed  to  depend  more  on  the  wourali-poison  for 
killing  their  game  than  upon  anything  else.  They 
had  only  one  gun,  and  it  appeared  rusty  and  neg- 
lected; but  their  poisoned  weapons  were  in  fine 
order.  Their  blow-pipes  hung  from  the  roof  of 
the  hut,  carefully  suspended  by  a  silk-grass  cord ; 
and  on  taking  a  nearer  view  of  them,  no  dust 
seemed  to  have  collected  there,  nor  had  the  spider 
spun  the  smallest  web  on  them;  which  showed 
that  they  were  in  constant  use.  The  quivers  were 
close  by  them,  with  the  jaw-bone  of  the  fish  Pirai 
tied  by  a  string  to  their  brim,  and  a  small  wicker- 
basket  of  wild  cotton,  which  hung  down  to  the 
centre;  they  were  nearly  full  of  poisoned  arrows. 
It  was  with  difficulty  these  Indians  could  be  per- 


60      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

suaded  to  part  with  any  of  the  wourali-poison, 
though  a  good  price  was  offered  for  it ;  they  gave 
me  to  understand  that  it  was  powder  and  shot  to 
them,  and  very  difficult  to  be  procured. 

On  the  second  day  after  leaving  the  settlement, 
in  passing  along,  the  Indians  show  you  a  place 
where  once  a  white  man  lived.  His  retiring  so  far 
from  those  of  his  own  colour  and  acquaintance 
seemed  to  carry  something  extraordinary  along 
with  it,  and  raised  a  desire  to  know  what  could 
have  induced  him  to  do  so.  It  seems  he  had  been 
unsuccessful,  and  that  his  creditors  had  treated 
him  with  as  little  mercy  as  the  strong  generally 
show  to  the  weak.  Seeing  his  endeavours  daily 
frustrated,  and  his  best  intentions  of  no  avail,  and 
fearing  that  when  they  had  taken  all  he  had  they 
would  probably  take  his  liberty  too,  he  thought 
the  world  would  not  be  hard-hearted  enough  to 
condemn  him  for  retiring  from  the  evils  which 
pressed  so  heavily  on  him,  and  which  he  had  done 
all  that  an  honest  man  could  do  to  ward  off.  He 
left  his  creditors  to  talk  of  him  as  they  thought  fit, 
and,  bidding  adieu  forever  to  the  place  in  which 
he  had  once  seen  better  times,  he  penetrated  thus 
far  into  those  remote  and  gloomy  wilds,  and 
ended  his  days  here. 

According  to  the  new  map  of  South  America, 
Lake  Parima,  or  the  Wliite  Sea,  ought  to  be  within 
three  or  four  days*  walk  from  this  place.  On  ask- 
ing the  Indians  whether  there  was  such  a  place  or 
not,  and  describing  that  the  water  was  fresh  and 
good  to  drink,  an  old  Indian,  who  appeared  to  be 
about  sixty,  said  that  there  was  such  a  place,  and 
that  he  had  been  there.    This  information  would 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       61 

have  been  satisfactory  in  some  degree,  had  not 
the  Indians  carried  the  point  a  little  too  far.  It 
is  very  large,  said  another  Indian,  and  ships  come 
to  it.  Now  these  unfortunate  ships  were  the  very 
things  which  were  not  wanted :  had  he  kept  them 
out,  it  might  have  done,  but  his  introducing  them 
was  sadly  against  the  lake.  Thus  you  must  either 
suppose  that  the  old  savage  and  his  companion 
had  a  confused  idea  of  the  thing,  and  that  proba- 
bly the  Lake  Parima  they  talked  of  was  the 
Amazons,  not  far  from  the  city  of  Para,  or  that 
it  was  their  intention  to  deceive  you.  You  ought 
to  be  cautious  in  giving  credit  to  their  stories, 
otherwise  you  will  be  apt  to  be  led  astray. 

Many  a  ridiculous  thing  concerning  the  interior 
of  Guiana  has  been  propagated  and  received  as 
true,  merely  because  six  or  seven  Indians,  ques- 
tioned separately,  have  agreed  in  their  narrative. 

Ask  those  who  live  high  up  in  the  Demerara, 
and  they  will,  every  one  of  them,  tell  you  that 
there  is  a  nation  of  Indians  with  long  tails ;  that 
they  are  very  malicious,  cruel,  and  ill-natured; 
and  that  the  Portuguese  have  been  obliged  to  stop 
them  off  in  a  certain  river,  to  prevent  their  depre- 
dations. They  have  also  dreadful  stories  con- 
cerning a  horrible  beast,  called  the  Watermamma, 
which,  when  it  happens  to  take  a  spite  against  a 
canoe,  rises  out  of  the  river,  and  in  the  most  unre- 
lenting manner  possible  carries  both  canoe  and 
Indians  down  to  the  bottom  with  it,  and  there 
destroys  them.  Ludicrous  extravagances;  pleas- 
ing to  those  fond  of  the  marvellous,  and  excellent 
matter  for  a  distempered  brain. 

The  misinformed  and  timid  court  of  policy  in 


62      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

Demerara  was  made  the  dupe  of  a  savage,  who 
came  down  the  Essequibo,  and  gave  himself  out 
as  king  of  a  mighty  tribe.  This  naked  wild  man 
of  the  woods  seemed  to  hold  the  said  court  in  tol- 
erable contempt,  and  demanded  immense  supplies, 
all  which  he  got ;  and  moreover,  some  time  after, 
an  invitation  to  come  down  the  ensuing  year  for 
more,  which  he  took  care  not  to  forget. 

This  noisy  chieftain  boasted  so  much  of  his 
dynasty  and  domain,  that  the  government  was 
induced  to  send  up  an  expedition  into  his  terri- 
tories to  see  if  he  had  spoken  the  truth,  and  noth- 
ing but  the  truth.  It  appeared,  however,  that  his 
palace  was  nothing  but  a  hut,  the  monarch  a 
needy  savage,  the  heir-apparent  nothing  to  inherit 
but  his  father's  club,  and  bow  and  arrows,  and 
his  officers  of  state  wild  and  uncultivated  as  the 
forests  through  which  they  strayed. 

There  was  nothing  in  the  hut  of  this  savage, 
saving  the  presents  he  had  received  from  govern- 
ment, but  what  was  barely  sufficient  to  support 
existence;  nothing  that  indicated  a  power  to  col- 
lect a  hostile  force ;  nothing  that  showed  the  least 
progress  towards  civilization.  All  was  rude  and 
barbarous  in  the  extreme,  expressive  of  the  ut- 
most poverty  and  a  scanty  population. 

You  may  travel  six  or  seven  days  without  see- 
ing a  hut,  and  when  you  reach  a  settlement  it 
seldom  contains  more  than  ten. 

The  farther  you  advance  into  the  interior  the 
more  you  are  convinced  that  it  is  thinly  inhabited. 

The  day  after  passing  the  place  where  the  white 
man  lived  you  see  a  creek  on  the  left  hand,  and 
shortly  after  the  path  to  the  open  country.    Here 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA      63 

you  drag  the  canoe  up  into  the  forest,  and  leave  it 
there.  Your  baggage  must  now  be  carried  by  the 
Indians.  The  creek  you  passed  in  the  river  inter- 
sects the  path  to  the  next  settlement:  a  large 
Mora  has  fallen  across  it,  and  makes  an  excellent 
bridge.  After  walking  an  hour  and  a  half  you 
come  to  the  edge  of  the  forest,  and  a  savanna  un- 
folds itself  to  the  view. 

The  finest  park  that  England  boasts  falls  far 
short  of  this  delightful  scene.  There  are  about 
two  thousand  acres  of  grass,  with  here  and  there 
a  clump  of  trees,  and  a  few  bushes  and  single 
trees  scattered  up  and  down  by  the  hand  of  Na- 
ture. The  ground  is  neither  hilly  nor  level,  but 
diversified  with  moderate  rises  and  falls,  so 
gently  running  into  one  another  that  the  eye  can- 
not distinguish  where  they  begin,  nor  where  they 
end,  while  the  distant  black  rocks  have  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  herd  at  rest.  Nearly  in  the  middle 
there  is  an  eminence,  which  falls  off  gradually  on 
every  side;  and  on  this  the  Indians  have  erected 
their  huts. 

To  the  northward  of  them  the  foremost  forms  a 
circle,  as  though  it  had  been  done  by  art;  to  the 
eastward  it  hangs  in  festoons;  and  to  the  south 
and  west  it  rushes  in  abruptly,  disclosing  a  new 
scene  behind  it  at  every  step  as  you  advance 
along. 

This  beautiful  park  of  nature  is  quite  sur- 
rounded by  lofty  hills,  all  arrayed  in  superbest 
garb  of  trees;  some  in  the  form  of  pyramids, 
others  like  sugar-loaves  towering  one  above  the 
other,  some  rounded  off,  and  others  as  though 
they  had  lost  their  apex.    Here  two  hills  rise  up 


64      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

in  spiral  summits,  and  the  wooded  line  of  com- 
munication betwixt  them  sinks  so  gradually  that 
it  forms  a  crescent ;  and  there  the  ridges  of  others 
resemble  the  waves  of  an  agitated  sea.  Beyond 
these  appear  others,  and  others  past  them;  and 
others  still  farther  on,  till  they  can  scarcely  be 
distinguished  from  the  clouds. 

There  are  no  sand-flies,  nor  bete-rouge,  nor 
mosquitos,  in  this  pretty  spot.  The  fire-flies  dur- 
ing the  night  vie  in  numbers  and  brightness  with 
the  stars  in  the  firmament  above ;  the  air  is  pure, 
and  the  north-east  breeze  blows  a  refreshing  gale 
throughout  the  day.  Here  the  White-crested  Ma- 
roudi,  which  is  never  found  in  the  Demerara,  is 
pretty  plentiful;  and  here  grows  the  tree  which 
produces  the  Moran,  sometimes  called  Balsam- 
capivi. 

Your  route  lies  south  from  this  place;  and  at 
the  extremity  of  the  savanna  you  enter  the  forest, 
and  journey  along  a  winding  path  at  the  foot  of 
a  hill.  There  is  no  habitation  within  this  day's 
walk.  The  traveller,  as  usual,  must  sleep  in  the 
forest ;  the  path  is  not  so  good  the  following  day. 
The  hills  over  which  it  lies  are  rocky,  steep,  and 
rugged,  and  the  spaces  betwixt  them  swampy,  and 
mostly  knee-deep  in  water.  After  eight  hours* 
walk  you  find  two  or  three  Indian  huts,  sur- 
rounded by  the  forest;  and  in  little  more  than 
half  an  hour  from  these  you  come  to  ten  or  twelve 
others,  where  you  pass  the  night.  They  are  pret- 
tily situated  at  the  entrance  into  a  savanna.  The 
eastern  and  western  hills  are  still  covered  with 
wood;  but  on  looking  to  the  south-west  quarter 
you  perceive  it  begins  to  die  away.    In  these  for- 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       65 

ests  you  may  find  plenty  of  the  trees  which  yield 
the  sweet-smelling  resin  called  Acaiari,  and  which, 
when  pomided  and  burnt  on  charcoal,  gives  a  de- 
lightful fragrance. 

From  hence  you  proceed,  in  a  south-west  direc- 
tion, through  a  long  swampy  savanna.  Some  of 
the  hills  which  border  on  it  have  nothing  but  a 
thin  coarse  grass  and  huge  stones  on  them ;  others 
quite  wooded ;  others  with  their  summits  crowned, 
and  their  base  quite  bare ;  and  others,  again,  with 
their  summits  bare,  and  their  base  in  thickest 
wood. 

Half  of  this  day's  march  is  in  water,  nearly  up 
to  the  knees.  There  are  four  creeks  to  pass :  one 
of  them  has  a  fallen  tree  across  it.  You  must 
make  your  own  bridge  across  the  other  three. 
Probably,  were  the  truth  known,  these  apparently 
four  creeks  are  only  the  meanders  of  one. 

The  Jabiru,  the  largest  bird  in  Guiana,  feeds  in 
the  marshy  savanna  through  which  you  have  just 
passed.  He  is  wary  and  shy,  and  will  not  allow 
you  to  get  within  gun-shot  of  him. 

You  sleep  this  night  in  the  forest,  and  reach  an 
Indian  settlement  about  three  o'clock  the  next 
evening,  after  walking  one-third  of  the  way 
through  wet  and  miry  ground. 

But,  bad  as  the  walking  is  through  it,  it  is 
easier  than  where  you  cross  over  the  bare  hills, 
where  you  have  to  tread  on  sharp  stones,  most  of 
them  lying  edgewise. 

The  ground  gone  over  these  two  last  days  seems 
condemned  to  perpetual  solitude  and  silence. 
There  was  not  one  four-footed  animal  to  be  seen, 
nor  even  the  marks  of  one.   It  would  have  been  as 


66       WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

silent  as  midnight,  and  all  as  still  and  unmoved  as 
a  monument,  had  not  the  Jabirn  in  the  marsh,  and 
a  few  Vultures  soaring  over  the  mountain's  top, 
shown  that  it  was  not  quite  deserted  by  animated 
nature.  There  were  no  insects,  except  one  kind 
of  fly,  about  one-fourth  the  size  of  the  common 
house-fly.  It  bit  cruelly,  and  was  much  more  tor- 
menting than  the  mosquito  on  the  sea-coast. 

This  seems  to  be  the  native  country  of  the  Ar- 
rowroot. Wherever  you  passed  through  a  patch 
of  wood  in  a  low  situation,  there  you  found  it 
growing  luxuriantly. 

The  Indian  place  you  are  now  at  is  not  the 
proper  place  to  have  come  to  in  order  to  reach  the 
Portuguese  frontiers.  You  have  advanced  too 
much  to  the  westward.  But  there  was  no  alterna- 
tive. The  ground  betwixt  you  and  another  small 
settlement  (which  was  the  right  place  to  have 
gone  to)  was  overflowed;  and  thus,  instead  of 
proceeding  southward,  you  were  obliged  to  wind 
along  the  foot  of  the  western  hills,  quite  out  of 
your  way. 

But  the  grand  landscape  this  place  affords 
makes  you  ample  amends  for  the  time  you  have 
spent  in  reaching  it.  It  would  require  great  de- 
scriptive powers  to  give  a  proper  idea  of  the  situ- 
ation these  people  have  chosen  for  their  dwelling. 

The  hill  they  are  on  is  steep  and  high,  and  full 
of  immense  rocks.  The  huts  are  not  all  in  one 
place,  but  dispersed  wherever  they  have  found  a 
place  level  enough  for  a  lodgement.  Before  you 
ascend  the  hill  you  see  at  intervals  an  acre  or  two 
of  wood,  then  an  open  space,  with  a  few  huts  on  it, 
then  wood  again,  and  then  an  open  space,  and  so 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       67 

on,  till  the  intervening  of  the  western  hills,  higher 
and  steeper  still,  and  crowned  with  trees  of  the 
loveliest  shades,  closes  the  enchanting  scene. 

At  the  base  of  this  hill  stretches  an  immense 
plain,  which  appears  to  the  eye,  on  this  elevated 
spot,  as  level  as  a  bowling-green.  The  mountains 
on  the  other  side  are  piled  one  upon  the  other  in 
romantic  forms,  and  gradually  retire,  till  they  are 
undiscernible  from  the  clouds  in  which  they  are 
involved.  To  the  south-south-west  this  far-ex- 
tending plain  is  lost  in  the  horizon.  The  trees  on 
it,  which  look  like  islands  on  the  ocean,  add  greatly 
to  the  beauty  of  the  landscape ;  while  the  rivulet's 
course  is  marked  out  by  the  ^ta-trees  which  fol- 
low its  meanders. 

Not  being  able  to  pursue  the  direct  course  from 
hence  to  the  next  Indian  habitation  on  account  of 
the  floods  of  water  that  fall  at  this  time  of  the 
3^ear,  you  take  a  circuit  westerly  along  the  moun- 
tain's foot. 

At  last  a  large  and  deep  creek  stops  your 
progress :  it  is  wide  and  rapid,  and  its  banks  very 
steep.  There  is  neither  curial  nor  canoe,  nor  pur- 
]^le-heart  tree  in  the  neighbourhood  to  make  a 
Wood-skin  to  carry  you  over,  so  that  you  are  ob- 
liged to  swim  across;  and  by  the  time  you  have 
formed  a  kind  of  raft,  composed  of  boughs  of 
trees  and  coarse  grass,  to  ferry  over  your  bag- 
gage, the  day  will  be  too  far  spent  to  think  of  pro- 
ceeding. You  must  be  very  cautious  before  you 
venture  to  swim  across  this  creek,  for  the  alliga- 
tors are  numerous,  and  near  twenty  feet  long.  On 
the  present  occasion  the  Indians  took  uncommon 
precautions  lest  they  should  be  devoured  by  this 


68      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

cruel  and  voracious  reptile.  They  cut  long  sticks, 
and  examined  closely  the  side  of  the  creek  for  half 
a  mile  above  and  below  the  place  where  it  was  to 
be  crossed ;  and  as  soon  as  the  boldest  had  swum 
over,  he  did  the  same  on  the  other  side,  and  then 
all  followed. 

After  passing  the  night  on  the  opposite  bank, 
which  is  well  wooded,  it  is  a  brisk  walk  of  nine 
hours  before  you  reach  four  Indian  huts,  on  a 
rising  ground  a  few  hundred  paces  from  a  little 
brook,  whose  banks  are  covered  over  with  Cou- 
courite  and  ^ta-trees. 

This  is  the  place  you  ought  to  have  come  to  two 
days  ago  had  the  water  permitted  you.  In  cross- 
ing the  plain  at  the  most  advantageous  place  you 
are  above  ankle-deep  in  water  for  three  hours; 
the  remainder  of  the  way  is  dry,  the  ground  gently 
rising.  As  the  lower  parts  of  this  spacious  plain 
put  on  somewhat  the  appearance  of  a  lake  during 
the  periodicals  rains,  it  is  not  improbable  but  that 
this  is  the  place  which  hath  given  rise  to  the  sup- 
posed existence  of  the  famed  Lake  Parima,  or 
El  Dorado ;  but  this  is  mere  conjecture. 

A  few  Deer  are  feeding  on  the  coarse  rough 
grass  of  this  far-extending  plain ;  they  keep  at  a 
distance  from  you,  and  are  continually  on  the 
look-out. 

The  Spur-winged  Plover,  and  a  species  of  the 
Curlew,  black,  with  a  white  bar  across  the  wings, 
nearly  as  large  again  as  the  scarlet  curlew  on  the 
sea-coast,  frequently  rise  before  you.  Here,  too, 
the  Moscovy  Duck  is  numerous ;  and  large  flocks 
of  two  other  kinds  wheel  round  you  as  you  pass 
on,  but  keep  out  of  gun-shot.     The  milk-white 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       69 

Egrets  and  Jabirus  are  distinguished  at  a  great 
distance ;  and  in  the  asta  and  coucourite  trees  you 
may  obsrerve  flocks  of  scarlet  and  blue  Aras  feed- 
ing on  the  seeds. 

It  is  to  these  trees  that  the  largest  sort  of 
Toucan  resorts.  He  is  remarkable  by  a  large 
black  spot  on  the  point  of  his  fine  yellow  bill.  He 
is  very  scarce  in  Demerara,  and  never  seen  except 
near  the  sea-coast. 

The  ants'  nests  have  a  singular  appearance  on 
this  plain.  They  are  in  vast  abundance  on  those 
parts  of  it  free  from  water,  and  are  formed  of  an 
exceedingly  hard  yellow  clay.  They  rise  eight  or 
ten  feet  from  the  ground,  in  a  spiral  form,  impen- 
etrable to  the  rain,  and  strong  enough  to  defy  the 
severest  tornado. 

The  wourali-poison,  procured  in  these  last-men- 
tioned huts,  seemed  very  good,  and  proved  after- 
wards to  be  very  strong. 

There  are  now  no  more  Indian  settlements  be- 
twixt you  and  the  Portuguese  frontiers.  If  you 
wish  to  visit  their  fort,  it  would  be  advisable  to 
send  an  Indian  with  a  letter  from  hence,  and  wait 
his  return.  On  the  present  occasion  a  very  for- 
tunate circumstance  occurred.  The  Portuguese 
commander  had  sent  some  Indians  and  soldiers  to 
build  a  canoe,  not  far  from  this  settlement ;  they 
had  just  finished  it,  and  those  who  did  not  stay 
with  it  had  stopped  here  on  their  return. 

The  soldier  who  commanded  the  rest,  said,  he 
durst  not,  upon  any  account,  convey  a  stranger  to 
the  fort ;  but,  he  added,  as  there  were  two  canoes, 
one  of  them  might  be  despatched  with  a  letter, 
and  then  we  could  proceed  slowly  on  in  the  other. 


70      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  A]\IERICA 

About  three  liours  from  this  settlement  there 
is  a  river  called  Pirarara;  and  here  the  soldiers 
had  left  their  canoes  while  they  were  making  the 
new  one.  From  the  Pirarara  you  get  into  the 
river  Maou,  and  then  into  the  Tacaton;  and  just 
where  the  Tacaton  falls  into  the  Rio  Branco,  there 
stands  the  Portuguese  frontier  fort,  called  Fort 
St.  Joachim.  From  the  time  of  embarking  in  the 
river  Pirarara,  it  takes  you  four  days  before  you 
reach  this  fort. 

There  was  nothing  very  remarkable  in  passing- 
down  these  rivers.  It  is  an  open  country,  produc- 
ing a  coarse  grass,  and  interspersed  with  clumps 
of  trees.  The  banks  have  some  wood  on  them,  but 
it  appears  stunted  and  crooked,  like  that  on  the 
bleak  hills  in  England. 

The  Tapir  frequently  plunged  into  the  river; 
he  was  by  no  means  shy,  and  it  was  easy  to  get  a 
shot  at  him  on  land.  The  Kessi-kessi  paroquets 
were  in  great  abundance;  and  the  fine  scarlet 
Aras  innumerable  in  the  coucourite-trees  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  river's  bank.  In  the  Tacaton  was 
seen  the  Troupiale.  It  was  charming  to  hear  the 
sweet  and  plaintive  notes  of  this  pretty  songster 
of  the  wilds.  The  Portuguese  call  it  the  Nightin- 
gale of  Guiana. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  fourth  evening,  the 
canoe,  which  had  been  sent  on  with  a  letter,  met  us 
with  the  commander's  answer.  During  its  ab- 
sence, the  nights  had  been  cold  and  stormy,  the 
rain  had  fallen  in  torrents,  the  days  cloudy,  and 
there  was  no  sun  to  dry  the  wet  hammocks.  Ex- 
posed thus,  day  and  night,  to  the  chilling  blast  and 
pelting  shower,  strength  of  constitution  at  last 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  A^IERICA       71 

failed,  and  a  severe  fever  came  on.  The  com- 
mander's answer  was  very  polite.  He  remarked, 
he  regretted  much  to  say,  that  he  had  received 
orders  to  allow  no  stranger  to  enter  the  frontier, 
and  this  being  the  case,  he  hoped  I  would  not  con- 
sider him  as  uncivil:  ''However,"  continued  he, 
"I  have  ordered  the  soldier  to  land  you  at  a  cer- 
tain distance  from  the  fort,  where  we  can  consult 
together. ' ' 

We  had  now  arrived  at  the  place,  and  the  canoe 
which  brought  the  letter  returned  to  the  fort,  to 
tell  the  commander  I  had  fallen  sick. 

The  sun  had  not  risen  above  an  hour  the  morn- 
ing after  when  the  Portuguese  officer  came  to  the 
spot  where  we  had  landed  the  preceding  evening. 
He  was  tall  and  spare,  and  appeared  to  be  from 
fifty  to  fifty-five  years  old;  and  though  thirty 
years  of  service  under  an  equatorial  sun  had 
burnt  and  shrivelled  up  his  face,  still  there  was 
something  in  it  so  inexpressibly  affable  and  kind, 
that  it  set  you  immediately  at  your  ease.  He  came 
close  up  to  the  hammock,  and  taking  hold  of  my 
wrist  to  feel  the  pulse,  ''I  am  sorry,  sir,"  said  he, 
''to  see  that  the  fever  has  taken  such  hold  of  you. 
You  shall  go  directly  with  me,"  continued  he,  "to 
the  fort;  and  though  we  have  no  doctor  there,  I 
trust,"  added  he,  "we  shall  soon  bring  you  about 
again.  The  orders  I  have  received  forbidding  the 
admission  of  strangers  were  never  intended  to 
be  put  in  force  against  a  sick  English  gentleman." 

As  the  canoe  was  proceeding  slowly  down  the 
river  towards  the  fort,  the  commander  asked,  with 
much  more  interest  than  a  question  in  ordinary 
conversation  is  asked,  where  was  I  on  the  night 


72      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

of  the  first  of  May?  On  telling  him  that  I  was  at 
an  Indian  settlement  a  little  below  the  great  fall 
in  the  Demerara,  and  that  a  strange  and  sudden 
noise  had  alarmed  all  the  Indians,  he  said  the 
same  astonishing  noise  had  roused  every  man  in 
Fort  St.  Joachim,  and  that  they  remained  under 
arms  till  morning.  He  observed,  that  he  had 
been  quite  at  a  loss  to  form  any  idea  what  could 
have  caused  the  noise ;  but  now  learning  that  the 
same  noise  had  been  heard  at  the  same  time  far 
away  from  the  Rio  Branco,  it  struck  him  there 
must  have  been  an  earthquake  somewhere  or 
other. 

Good  nourishment  and  rest,  and  the  unwearied 
attention  and  kindness  of  the  Portuguese  com- 
mander, stopped  the  progress  of  the  fever,  and  en- 
abled me  to  walk  about  in  six  days. 

Fort  St.  Joachim  was  built  about  five  and  forty 
years  ago,  under  the  apprehension,  it  is  said,  that 
the  Spaniards  were  coming  from  the  Rio  Negro  to 
settle  there.  It  has  been  much  neglected;  the 
floods  of  water  have  carried  away  the  gate,  and 
destroyed  the  wall  on  each  side  of  it ;  but  the  pres- 
ent commander  is  putting  it  into  thorough  repair. 
When  finished,  it  will  mount  six  nine  and  six 
twelve  pounders. 

In  a  straight  line  with  the  fort,  and  within  a 
few  yards  of  the  river,  stand  the  commander's 
house,  the  barracks,  the  chapel,  the  father  con- 
fessor's house,  and  two  others,  all  at  little  inter- 
vals from  each  other;  and  these  are  the  only 
buildings  at  Fort  St.  Joachim.  The  neighbouring 
extensive  plains  afford  good  pasturage  for  a  fine 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA      73 

breed  of  cattle,  and  the  Portuguese  make  enough 
of  butter  and  cheese  for  their  own  consumption. 

On  asking  the  old  officer  if  there  were  such  a 
place  as  Lake  Parima,  or  El  Dorado,  he  replied, 
he  looked  upon  it  as  imaginary  altogether.  "I 
have  been  above  forty  years,'*  added  he,  "in  Por- 
tuguese Guiana,  but  have  never  yet  met  with  any- 
body who  has  seen  the  lake." 

So  much  for  Lake  Parima,  or  El  Dorado,  or  the 
White  Sea.  Its  existence  at  best  seems  doubtful ; 
some  affirm  that  there  is  such  a  place,  and  others 
deny  it. 


CHAPTER  II 

"Grammatici  certant,  et  adhuc  sub  judice  lis  est." 

Having  now  reached  the  Portuguese  inland 
frontier,  and  collected  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the 
wourali-poison,  nothing  remains  but  to  give  a 
brief  account  of  its  composition,  its  effects,  its 
uses,  and  its  supposed  antidotes. 

It  has  been  already  remarked,  that  in  the  exten- 
sive wilds  of  Demerara  and  Essequibo,  far  away 
from  any  European  settlement,  there  is  a  tribe 
of  Indians  who  are  known  by  the  name  of  Ma- 
coushi. 

Though  the  wourali-poison  is  used  by  all  the 
South  American  savages  betwixt  the  Amazons  and 
the  Oroonoque,  still  this  tribe  makes  it  stronger 
than  any  of  the  rest.  The  Indians  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Rio  Negro  are  aware  of  this,  and  come  to 
the  Macoushi  country  to  purchase  it. 

Much  has  been  said  concerning  this  fatal  and 
extraordinary  poison.  Some  have  affirmed  that 
its  effects  are  almost  instantaneous,  provided  the 
minutest  particle  of  it  mixes  with  the  l)lood;  and 
others  again  have  maintained  that  it  is  not  strong 
enough  to  kill  an  animal  of  the  size  and  strength 
of  a  man.  The  first  have  erred  by  lending  a  too 
willing  ear  to  the  marvellous,  and  believing  asser- 
tions without  sufficient  proof.  The  following  short 

74 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       75 

story  points  out  the  necessity  of  a  cautious  ex- 
amination. 

One  day,  on  asking  an  Indian  if  he  thought  the 
poison  would  kill  a  man,  he  replied,  that  they  al- 
ways go  to  battle  with  it;  that  he  was  standing 
by  when  an  Indian  was  shot  with  a  poisoned  ar- 
row, and  that  he  expired  almost  immediately.  Not 
wishing  to  dispute  this  apparently  satisfactory 
information,  the  subject  was  dropped.  However, 
about  an  hour  after,  having  purposely  asked  him 
in  what  part  of  the  body  the  said  Indian  was 
wounded,  he  answered  without  hesitation,  that  the 
arrow  entered  betwixt  his  shoulders,  and  passed 
quite  through  his  heart.  Was  it  the  weapon,  or 
the  strength  of  the  poison,  that  brought  on  im- 
mediate dissolution  in  this  case?  Of  course  the 
weapon. 

The  second  have  been  misled  by  disappoint- 
ment, caused  by  neglect  in  keeping  the  poisoned 
arrows,  or  by  not  knowing  how  to  use  them,  or  by 
trying  inferior  poison.  If  the  arrows  are  not  kept 
dry,  the  poison  loses  its  strength ;  and  in  wet  or 
damp  weather  it  turns  mouldy,  and  becomes  quite 
soft.  In  shooting  an  arrow  in  this  state,  upon 
examining  the  place  where  it  has  entered,  it  will 
be  observed  that,  though  the  arrow  has  penetrated 
deep  into  the  flesh,  still  by  far  the  greatest  part 
of  the  poison  has  shrunk  back,  and  thus,  instead 
of  entering  with  the  arrow,  it  has  remained  col- 
lected at  the  mouth  of  the  wound.  In  this  case  the 
arrow  might  as  well  have  not  been  poisoned.  Prob- 
ably, it  was  to  this  that  a  gentleman,  some  time 
ago,  owed  his  disappointment,  when  he  tried  the 
poison  on  a  horse  in  the  town  of  Stabroek,  the 


76      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

capital  of  Demerara;  the  horse  never  betrayed 
the  least  symptom  of  being  affected  by  it. 

Wishful  to  obtain  the  best  information  concern- 
ing this  poison,  and  as  repeated  inquiries,  in  lieu 
of  dissipating  the  surrounding  shade,  did  but  tend 
more  and  more  to  darken  the  little  light  that  ex- 
isted, I  determined  to  penetrate  into  the  country 
where  the  poisonous  ingredients  grow,  where  this 
pernicious  composition  is  prepared,  and  where  it 
is  constantly  used.  Success  attended  the  adven- 
ture ;  and  the  information  acquired  made  amends 
for  one  hundred  and  twenty  days  passed  m  the 
solitudes  of  Guiana,  and  afforded  a  balm  to  the 
wounds  and  bruises  which  every  traveller  must 
expect  to  receive  who  wanders  through  a  thorny 
and  obstructed  path. 

Thou  must  not,  courteous  reader,  expect  a  dis- 
sertation on  the  manner  in  which  the  wourali- 
poison  operates  on  the  system ;  a  treatise  has  been 
already  written  on  that  subject,  and  after  all, 
there  is  probably  still  reason  to  doubt.  It  is  sup- 
posed to  affect  the  nervous  system,  and  thus  de- 
stroy the  vital  functions;  it  is  also  said  to  be 
perfectly  harmless,  provided  it  does  not  touch  the 
blood.  However,  this  is  certain,  when  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  it  enters  the  blood,  death  is  the  inevit- 
able consequence;  but  there  is  no  alteration  in 
the  colour  of  the  blood,  and  both  the  blood  and 
flesh  may  be  eaten  with  safety. 

All  that  thou  wilt  find  here  is  a  concise,  una- 
dorned account  of  the  wourali-poison.  It  may  be 
of  service  to  thee  some  time  or  other,  shouldst 
thou  ever  travel  through  the  wilds  where  it  is 
used.    Neither  attribute  to  crueltv,  nor  to  a  want 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       77 

of  feeling  for  the  sufferings  of  the  inferior  ani- 
mals, the  ensuing  experiments.  The  larger 
animals  were  destroyed  in  order  to  have  proof 
positive  of  the  strength  of  a  poison  which  hath 
hitherto  been  doubted :  and  the  smaller  ones  were 
killed  with  the  hope  of  substantiating  that  which 
has  commonly  been  supposed  to  be  an  antidote. 

It  makes  a  pitying  heart  ache  to  see  a  poor 
creature  in  distress  and  pain;  and  too  often  has 
the  compassionate  traveller  occasion  to  heave  a 
sigh  as  he  journeys  on.  However,  here,  though 
the  kind-hearted  will  be  sorry  to  read  of  an  unof- 
rending  animal  doomed  to  death,  in  order  to  sat- 
isfy a  doubt,  still  it  will  be  a  relief  to  know  that 
the  victim  was  not  tortured.  The  wourali-poison 
destroys  life's  action  so  gently,  that  the  victim 
appears  to  be  in  no  pain  whatever ;  and  probably, 
were  the  truth  known,  it  feels  none,  saving  the 
momentary  smart  at  the  time  the  arrow  enters. 

A  day  or  two  before  the  Macouslii  Indian  pre- 
pares his  poison,  he  goes  into  the  forest  in  quest 
of  the  ingredients.  A  vine  grows  in  these  wilds, 
which  is  called  Wourali.  It  is  from  this  that  the 
poison  takes  its  name,  and  it  is  the  principal  in- 
gredient. When  he  has  procured  enough  of  this, 
he  digs  up  a  root  of  a  very  bitter  taste,  ties  them 
together,  and  then  looks  about  for  two  kinds  of 
bulbous  plants,  which  contain  a  green  and  glutin- 
ous juice.  He  fills  a  little  quake,  which  he  carries 
on  his  back,  with  the  stalks  of  these;  and  lastly, 
ranges  up  and  down  till  he  finds  two  species  of 
ants.  One  of  them  is  very  large  and  black,  and  so 
venomous,  that  its  sting  produces  a  fever;  it  is 
most  commonly  to  be  met  with  on  the  ground.  The 


78      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

other  is  a  little  red  ant,  which  stings  like  a  nettle, 
and  generally  has  its  nest  nnder  the  leaf  of  a 
shrub.  After  obtaining  these,  he  has  no  more 
need  to  range  the  forest. 

A  quantity  of  the  strongest  Indian  pepper  is 
used;  but  this  he  has  already  planted  round  his 
hut.  The  pounded  fangs  of  the  Labarri  snake, 
and  those  of  the  Counacouchi,  are  likewise  added. 
These  he  commonly  has  in  store ;  for  when  he  kills 
a  snake,  he  generally  extracts  the  fangs,  and 
keeps  them  by  him. 

Having  thus  found  the  necessary  ingredients, 
he  scrapes  the  wourali  vine  and  bitter  root  into 
thin  shavings,  and  puts  them  into  a  kind  of  colan- 
der made  of  leaves:  this  he  holds  over  an  earthen 
pot,  and  pours  water  on  the  shavings :  the  liquor 
which  comes  through  has  the  appearance  of  cof- 
fee. When  a  sufficient  quantity  has  been  pro- 
cured, the  shavings  are  thrown  aside.  He  then 
bruises  the  bulbous  stalks,  and  squeezes  a  pro- 
portionate quantity  of  their  juice  through  his 
hands  into  the  pot.  Lastly,  the  snakes'  fangs, 
ants,  and  pepper  are  bruised,  and  thrown  into  it. 
It  is  then  placed  on  a  slow  fire,  and  as  it  boils, 
more  of  the  juice  of  the  wourali  is  added,  accord- 
ing as  it  may  be  found  necessary,  and  the  scum 
is  taken  off  with  a  leaf:  it  remains  on  the  fire 
till  reduced  to  a  thick  syrup  of  a  deep  brown 
colour.  As  soon  as  it  has  arrived  at  this  state,  a 
few  arrows  are  poisoned  with  it,  to  try  its 
strength.  If  it  answer  the  expectations,  it  is 
poured  out  into  a  calabash,  or  little  pot  of  Indian 
manufacture,  which  is  carefully  covered  with  a 
couple  of  leaves,  and  over  them  a  piece  of  deer's 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       79 

skin,  tied  round  with  a  cord.  They  keep  it  in  the 
most  dry  part  of  the  hut ;  and  from  time  to  time 
suspend  it  over  the  fire,  to  counteract  the  effects 
of  dampness. 

The  act  of  preparing  this  poison  is  not  consid- 
ered as  a  common  one:  the  savage  may  shape  his 
bow,  fasten  the  barb  on  the  point  of  his  arrow, 
and  make  his  other  implements  of  destruction, 
either  lying  in  his  hammock,  or  in  the  midst  of  his 
family;  but,  if  he  has  to  prepare  the  wourali- 
poison,  many  precautions  are  supposed  to  be  nec- 
essary. 

The  women  and  young  girls  are  not  allowed  to 
be  present,  lest  the  Yabahou,  or  evil  spirit,  should 
do  them  harm.  The  shed  under  which  it  has  been 
boiled  is  pronounced  polluted,  and  abandoned 
ever  after.  He  who  makes  the  poison  must  eat 
nothing  that  morning,  and  must  continue  fasting 
as  long  as  the  operation  lasts.  The  pot  in  which 
it  is  boiled  must  be  a  new  one,  and  must  never 
have  held  anything  before,  otherwise  the  poison 
would  be  deficient  in  strength:  add  to  this,  that 
the  operator  must  take  particular  care  not  to  ex- 
pose himself  to  the  vapour  which  arises  from  it 
while  on  the  fire. 

Though  this  and  other  precautions  are  taken, 
such  as  frequently  washing  the  face  and  hands, 
still  the  Indians  think  that  it  affects  the  health; 
and  the  operator  either  is,  or,  what  is  more  prob- 
able, supposes  himself  to  be,  sick  for  some  days 
after. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  making  the  wourali- 
poison  is  considered  as  a  gloomy  and  mysterious 
operation;   and  it  would  seem  that  they  imagine 


80      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

it  affects  others  as  well  as  him  who  boils  it;  for 
an  Indian  agreed  one  evening  to  make  some  for 
me,  but  the  next  morning  he  declined  having  any- 
thing to  do  with  it,  alleging  that  his  wife  was  with 
child! 

Here  it  might  be  asked,  are  all  the  ingredients 
just  mentioned  necessary,  in  order  to  produce  the 
wourali-poison?  Though  our  opinions  and  con- 
jectures may  militate  against  the  absolute  neces- 
sity of  some  of  them,  still  it  would  be  hardly  fair 
to  pronounce  them  added  by  the  hand  of  supersti- 
tion, till  proof  positive  can  be  obtained. 

We  might  argue  on  the  subject,  and,  by  bring- 
ing forward  instances  of  Indian  superstition,  draw 
our  conclusion  by  inference,  and  still  remain  in 
doubt  on  this  head.  You  know  superstition  to  be 
the  offspring  of  ignorance,  and  of  course  that  it 
takes  up  its  abode  amongst  the  rudest  tribes  of 
uncivilized  man.  It  even  too  often  resides  with 
man  in  his  more  enlightened  state. 

The  Augustan  age  furnishes  numerous  exam- 
ples. A  bone  snatched  from  the  jaws  of  a  fasting 
bitch,  and  a  feather  from  the  wing  of  a  night  owl, 
— "ossa  ab  ore  rapta  jejunae  canis,  plumamque 
nocturnge  strigis," — were  necessary  for  Canidia's 
incantations.  And  in  aftertimes,  parson  Evans, 
the  Welshman,  was  treated  most  ungenteelly  by 
an  enraged  spirit,  solely  because  he  had  forgotten 
a  fumigation  in  his  witch-work. 

If,  then,  enlightened  man  lets  his  better  sense 
give  way,  and  believes,  or  allows  himself  to  be 
persuaded,  that  certain  substances  and  actions, 
in  reality  of  no  avail,  possess  a  virtue  which  ren- 
ders  them  useful   in  producing  the  wished-for 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AJVIERICA      81 

effects ;  may  not  the  wild,  untaught,  unenlightened 
savage  of  Guiana  add  an  ingredient  which,  on  ac- 
count of  the  harm  it  does  him,  he  fancies  may  be 
useful  to  the  perfection  of  his  poison,  though  in 
fact  it  be  of  no  use  at  all?  If  a  bone  snatched 
from  the  jaws  of  a  fasting  bitch  be  thought  neces- 
sary in  incantation ;  or  if  witchcraft  have  recourse 
to  the  raiment  of  the  owl,  because  it  resorts  to 
the  tombs  and  mausoleums  of  the  dead,  and  wails 
and  hovers  about  at  the  time  that  the  rest  of  ani- 
mated nature  sleeps;  certainly  the  savage  may 
imagine  that  the  ants,  whose  sting  causes  a  fever, 
and  the  teeth  of  the  Labarri  and  Couanacouchi 
snakes,  which  convey  death  in  a  very  short  space 
of  time,  are  essentially  necessary  in  the  composi- 
tion of  his  poison ;  and  being  once  impressed  with 
this  idea,  he  will  add  them  every  time  he  makes 
the  poison,  and  transmit  the  absolute  use  of  them 
to  his  posterity.  The  question  to  be  answered 
seems  not  to  be,  if  it  is  natural  for  the  Indians  to 
mix  these  ingredients,  but,  if  they  are  essential  to 
make  the  poison. 

So  much  for  the  preparing  of  this  vegetable 
essence;  terrible  importer  of  death,  into  what- 
ever animal  it  enters.  Let  us  now  see  how  it  is 
used;  let  us  examine  the  weapons  which  bear  it 
to  its  destination,  and  take  a  view  of  the  poor 
victim,  from  the  time  he  receives  his  wound  till 
death  comes  to  his  relief. 

Wlien  a  native  of  Macoushia  goes  in  quest  of 
feathered  game  or  other  birds,  he  seldom  carries 
his  bow  and  arrows.  It  is  the  blow-pipe  he  then 
uses.  This  extraordinary  tube  of  death  is,  perhaps 
one  of  the  greatest  natural  curiosities  of  Guiana. 

6 


82      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  A^IERICA 

It  is  not  found  in  the  country  of  the  Macoushi. 
Those  Indians  tell  you  that  it  grows  to  the  south- 
west of  them,  in  the  wilds  which  extend  betwixt 
them  and  the  Rio  Negro.  The  reed  must  grow  to 
an  amazing  length,  as  the  part  the  Indians  use  is 
from  ten  to  eleven  feet  long,  and  no  tapering  can 
be  perceived  in  it,  one  end  being  as  thick  as  the 
other.  It  is  of  a  bright  yellow  colour,  perfectly 
smooth  both  inside  and  out.  It  grows  hollow; 
nor  is  there  the  least  appearance  of  a  knot  or 
joint  throughout  the  whole  extent.  The  natives 
call  it  Ourah.  This,  of  itself,  is  too  slender  to 
answer  the  end  of  a  blow-pipe;  but  there  is  a 
species  of  palma,  larger  and  stronger,  and  com- 
mon in  Guiana,  and  this  the  Indians  make  use  of 
as  a  case,  in  which  they  put  the  ourah.  It  is 
brown,  susceptible  of  a  fine  polish,  and  appears 
as  if  it  had  joints  five  or  six  inches  from  each 
other.  It  is  called  Samourah,  and  the  pulp  in- 
side is  easily  extracted,  by  steeping  it  for  a  few 
days  in  water. 

Thus  the  ourah  and  samourah,  one  within  the 
other,  form  the  blow-pipe  of  Guiana.  The  end 
which  is  applied  to  the  mouth  is  tied  round  with 
a  small  silk-grass  cord,  to  prevent  its  splitting; 
and  the  other  end,  which  is  apt  to  strike  against 
the  ground,  is  secured  by  the  seed  of  the  Acuero 
fruit,  cut  horizontally  through  the  middle,  with  a 
hole  made  in  the  end,  through  which  is  put  the 
extremity  of  the  blow-pipe.  It  is  fastened  on 
with  string  on  the  outside,  and  the  inside  is  filled 
up  with  wild  bees '-wax. 

The  arrow  is  from  nine  to  ten  inches  long.  It 
is  made  out  of  the  leaf  of  a  species  of  palm-tree, 


Macoushia  Indian  with  Blow-pipe 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       83 

called  Coiicourite,  hard  and  brittle,  and  pointed 
as  sharp  as  a  needle.  About  an  inch  of  the 
pointed  end  is  poisoned.  The  other  end  is  burnt 
to  make  it  still  harder,  and  wild  cotton  is  put 
round  it  for  about  an  inch  and  a  half.  It  requires 
considerable  practice  to  put  on  this  cotton  well. 
It  must  just  be  large  enough  to  fit  the  hollow  of  the 
tube,  and  taper  off  to  nothing  downwards.  They 
tie  it  on  with  a  thread  of  the  silk-grass,  to  prevent 
its  slii^ping  off  the  arrow. 

The  Indians  have  shown  ingenuity  in  making  a 
quiver  to  hold  the  arrows.  It  will  contain  from 
five  to  six  hundred.  It  is  generally  from  twelve 
to  fourteen  inches  long,  and  in  shape  resembles 
a  dice-box  used  at  backgammon.  The  inside  is 
prettily  done  in  basket-work,  with  wood  not  un- 
like bamboo,  and  the  outside  has  a  coat  of  wax. 
The  cover  is  all  of  one  piece,  formed  out  of  the 
skin  of  the  tapir.  Eound  the  centre  there  is  fas- 
tened a  loop,  large  enough  to  admit  the  arm  and 
shoulder  from  which  it  hangs  when  used.  To  the 
rim  is  tied  a  little  bunch  of  silk-grass,  and  half  of 
the  jaw-bone  of  the  fish  called  pirai,  with  which 
the  Indian  scrapes  the  point  of  his  arrow. 

Before  he  puts  the  arrows  into  the  quiver,  he 
links  them  together  by  two  strings  of  cotton,  one 
string  at  each  end,  and  then  folds  them  round  a 
stick,  which  is  nearly  the  length  of  the  quiver. 
The  end  of  the  stick,  which  is  uppermost,  is 
guarded  by  two  little  pieces  of  wood  crosswise, 
with  a  hoop  round  their  extremities,  which  ap- 
pears something  like  a  wheel ;  and  this  saves  the 
hand  from  being  wounded  when  the  quiver  is 


84      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

reversed  in  order  to  let  the  bunch  of  arrows  drop 
out. 

There  is  also  attached  to  the  quiver  a  little  kind 
of  basket,  to  hold  the  wild  cotton  which  is  put  on 
the  blunt  end  of  the  arrow.  With  a  quiver  of 
poisoned  arrows  slung  over  his  shoulder,  and  with 
his  blow-pipe  in  his  hand,  in  the  same  position  as 
a  soldier  carries  his  musket,  see  the  Macoushi  In- 
dian advancing  towards  the  forest  in  quest  of 
powises,  maroudis,  waracabas,  and  other  feath- 
ered game. 

These  generally  sit  high  up  in  the  tall  and 
tufted  trees,  but  still  are  not  out  of  the  Indian's 
reach;  for  his  blow-pipe,  at  its  greatest  eleva- 
tion, will  send  an  arrow  three  hundred  feet.  Si- 
lent as  midnight  he  steals  under  them,  and  so 
cautiously  does  he  tread  the  ground,  that  the 
fallen  leaves  rustle  not  beneath  his  feet.  His  ears 
are  open  to  the  least  sound,  while  his  eye,  keen  as 
that  of  the  lynx,  is  employed  in  finding  out  the 
game  in  the  thickest  shade.  Often  he  imitates 
their  cry,  and  decoys  them  from  tree  to  tree,  till 
they  are  within  range  of  his  tube.  Then  taking  a 
poisoned  arrow  from  his  quiver,  he  puts  it  in  the 
blow-pipe,  and  collects  his  breath  for  the  fatal 
putf. 

About  two  feet  from  the  end  through  which  he 
blows  there  are  fastened  two  teeth  of  the  acouri, 
and  these  serve  him  for  a  sight.  Silent  and  swift 
the  arrow  flies,  and  seldom  fails  to  pierce  the  ob- 
ject at  which  it  is  sent.  Sometimes  the  wounded 
bird  remains  in  the  same  tree  where  it  was  shot, 
and  in  three  minutes  falls  down  at  the  Indian's 
feet.    Should  he  take  wing,  his  flight  is  of  short 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       85 

duration,  and  the  Indian,  following  the  direction 
he  has  gone,  is  sure  to  find  him  dead. 

It  is  natural  to  imagine  that,  when  a  slight 
wound  only  is  inflicted,  the  game  will  make  its 
escape.  Far  otherwise;  the  wourali-poison  al- 
most instantaneously  mixes  with  blood  or  water, 
so  that  if  you  wet  your  finger,  and  dash  it  along 
the  poisoned  arrow  in  the  quickest  manner  possi- 
ble, you  are  sure  to  carry  off  some  of  the  poison. 
Though  three  minutes  generally  elapse  before  the 
convulsions  come  on  in  the  wounded  bird,  still  a 
stupor  evidently  takes  place  sooner,  and  this  stu- 
por manifests  itself  by  an  apparent  unwillingness 
in  the  bird  to  move.  This  was  very  visible  in  a 
dying  fowl. 

Having  procured  a  healthy  full-grown  one,  a 
short  piece  of  a  poisoned  blow-pipe  arrow  was 
broken  off  and  run  up  into  its  thigh,  as  near  as 
possible  betwixt  the  skin  and  the  flesh,  in  order 
that  it  might  not  be  incommoded  by  the  wound. 
For  the  first  minute  it  walked  about,  but  walked 
very  slowly,  and  did  not  appear  the  least  agitated. 
During  the  second  minute  it  stood  still,  and  began 
to  peck  the  ground;  and  ere  half  another  had 
elapsed,  it  frequently  opened  and  shut  its  mouth. 
The  tail  had  now  dropped,  and  the  wings  almost 
touched  the  ground.  By  the  termination  of  the 
third  minute,  it  had  sat  down,  scarce  able  to  sup- 
port its  head,  which  nodded,  and  then  recovered 
itself,  and  then  nodded  again,  lower  and  lower  ev- 
ery time,  like  that  of  a  weary  traveller  slumbering 
in  an  erect  position ;  the  eyes  alternately  open  and 
shut.  The  fourth  minute  brought  on  convulsions, 
and  life  and  the  fifth  terminated  to2:ether. 


86      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

The  flesh  of  the  game  is  not  in  the  least  injured 
by  the  poison,  nor  does  it  appear  to  corrupt 
sooner  than  that  killed  by  the  gun  or  knife.  The 
body  of  this  fowl  was  kept  for  sixteen  hours,  in  a 
climate  damp  and  rainy,  and  within  seven  degrees 
of  the  equator;  at  the  end  of  which  time  it 
had  contracted  no  bad  smell  whatever,  and  there 
were  no  symptoms  of  putrefaction,  saving  that, 
just  round  the  wound,  the  flesh  appeared  some- 
what discoloured. 

The  Indian,  on  his  return  home,  carefully  sus- 
pends his  blow-pipe  from  the  top  of  his  spiral 
roof;  seldom  placing  it  in  an  oblique  position, 
lest  it  should  receive  a  cast. 

Here  let  the  blow-pipe  remain  suspended,  while 
you  take  a  view  of  the  arms  which  are  made  to 
slay  the  larger  beasts  of  the  forest. 

When  the  Indian  intends  to  chase  the  peccari, 
or  surprise  the  deer,  or  rouse  the  tapir  from  his 
marshy  retreat,  he  carries  his  bow  and  arrows, 
which  are  very  different  from  the  weapons  al- 
ready described. 

The  bow  is  generally  from  six  to  seven  feet 
long,  and  strung  with  a  cord,  spun  out  of  the  silk- 
grass.  The  forests  of  Guiana  furnish  many 
species  of  hard  wood,  tough  and  elastic,  out  of 
which  beautiful  and  excellent  bows  are  formed. 

The  arrows  are  from  four  to  five  feet  in  length, 
made  of  a  yellow  reed  without  a  knot  or  joint.  It 
is  found  in  great  plenty  up  and  down  throughout 
Guiana.  A  piece  of  hard  wood,  about  nine  inches 
long,  is  inserted  into  the  end  of  the  reed,  and  fas- 
tened with  cotton  well  waxed.  A  square  hole,  an 
inch  deep,  is  then  made  in  the  end  of  this  piece  of 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       87 

hard  wood,  done  tight  round  with  cotton  to  keep 
it  from  splitting.  Into  this  square  hole  is  fitted  a 
spike  of  Coucourite  wood,  poisoned,  and  which 
may  be  kept  there,  or  taken  out  at  pleasure.  A 
joint  of  bamboo,  about  as  thick  as  your  finger,  is 
fitted  on  over  the  poisoned  spike,  to  prevent  acci- 
dents and  defend  it  from  the  rain,  and  is  taken  off 
when  the  arrow  is  about  to  be  used.  Lastly,  two 
feathers  are  fastened  on  the  other  end  of  the  reed 
to  steady  it  in  its  flight. 

Besides  his  bow  and  arrows,  the  Indian  carries 
a  little  box  made  of  bamboo,  which  holds  a  dozen 
or  fifteen  poisoned  spikes,  six  inches  long.  They 
are  poisoned  in  the  following  manner:  a  small 
piece  of  wood  is  dipped  in  the  poison,  and  with  this 
they  give  the  spike  a  first  coat.  It  is  then  exposed 
to  the  sun  or  fire.  After  it  is  dry,  it  receives  an- 
other coat,  and  is  then  dried  again;  after  this  a 
third  coat,  and  sometimes  a  fourth. 

They  take  great  care  to  put  the  poison  on 
thicker  at  the  middle  than  at  the  sides,  by  which 
means  the  spike  retains  the  shape  of  a  two-edged 
sword.  It  is  rather  a  tedious  operation  to  make 
one  of  these  arrows  complete ;  and  as  the  Indian 
is  not  famed  for  industry,  except  when  pressed  by 
hunger,  he  has  hit  upon  a  plan  of  preserving  his 
arrows  which  deserves  notice. 

About  a  quarter  of  an  inch  above  the  part 
where  the  Coucourite  spike  is  fixed  into  the 
square  hole,  he  cuts  it  half  through;  and  thus, 
when  it  has  entered  the  animal,  the  weight  of  the 
arrow  causes  it  to  break  off  there,  by  which  means 
the  arrow  falls  to  the  ground  uninjured;  so  that, 
should  this  be  the  only  arrow  he  happens  to  have 


88      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

with  him,  and  should  another  shot  immediately 
occur,  he  has  only  to  take  another  poisoned  spike 
out  of  his  little  bamhoo  box,  fit  it  on  his  arrow, 
and  send  it  to  its  destination. 

Thus  armed  with  deadly  poison,  and  hungry  as 
the  hyaena,  he  ranges  through  the  forest  in  quest 
of  the  wild  beasts'  track.  No  hound  can  act  a 
surer  part.  Without  clothes  to  fetter  him,  or 
shoes  to  bind  his  feet,  he  observes  the  footsteps 
of  the  game,  where  an  European  eye  could  not 
discern  the  smallest  vestige.  He  pursues  it 
through  all  its  turns  and  windings,  with  astonish- 
ing perseverance,  and  success  generally  crowns 
his  efforts.  The  animal,  after  receiving  the  poi- 
soned arrow,  seldom  retreats  two  hundred  paces 
before  it  drops. 

In  passing  overland  from  the  Essequibo  to  the 
Demerara  we  fell  in  with  a  herd  of  wild  hogs. 
Though  encumbered  with  baggage,  and  fatigued 
with  a  hard  day's  walk,  an  Indian  got  his  bow 
ready,  and  let  fly  a  poisoned  arrow  at  one  of 
them.  It  entered  the  cheek-bone  and  broke  off. 
The  wild  hog  was  found  quite  dead  about  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy  paces  from  the  place  where  he 
had  been  shot.  He  afforded  us  an  excellent  and 
wholesome  supper. 

Thus  the  savage  of  Guiana,  independent  of  the 
common  weapons  of  destruction,  has  it  in  his 
power  to  prepare  a  poison,  by  which  he  can  gen- 
erally ensure  to  himself  a  supply  of  animal  food; 
and  the  food  so  destroyed  imbibes  no  deleterious 
qualities.  Nature  has  been  bountiful  to  him. 
She  has  not  only  ordered  poisonous  herbs  and 
roots  to  grow  in  the  unbounded  forests  through 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AJVIERICA       89 

which  he  strays,  but  has  also  furnished  an  excel- 
lent reed  for  his  arrows,  and  another,  still  more 
singular,  for  his  blow-pipe;  and  planted  trees  of 
an  amazing  hard,  tough,  and  elastic  texture,  out 
of  which  he  forms  his  bows.  And  in  order  that 
nothing  might  be  wanting,  she  has  superadded  a 
tree  which  yields  him  a  fine  wax,  and  dessemi- 
nated  up  and  down  a  plant  not  unlike  that  of  the 
pine-apple,  which  affords  him  capital  bow-strings. 


CHAPTER   III 

Having  now  followed  the  Indian  in  the  chase, 
and  described  the  poison,  let  us  take  a  nearer  view 
of  its  action,  and  observe  a  large  animal  expiring 
under  the  weight  of  its  baneful  virulence. 

Many  have  doubted  the  strength  of  the  wourali- 
poison.  Should  they  ever  by  chance  read  what 
follows,  probably  their  doubts  on  that  score  will 
be  settled  for  ever. 

In  the  former  experiment  on  the  hog,  some  faint 
resistance  on  the  part  of  nature  was  observed, 
as  if  existence  struggled  for  superiority;  but  in 
the  following  instance  of  the  sloth,  life  sank  in 
death  without  the  least  apparent  contention,  with- 
out a  cry,  without  a  struggle,  and  without  a  groan. 
This  was  an  Ai,  or  three-toed  Sloth.  It  was  in 
the  possession  of  a  gentleman  who  was  collecting 
curiosities.  He  wished  to  have  it  killed,  in  order 
to  preserve  the  skin,  and  the  wourali-poison  was 
resorted  to  as  the  easiest  death. 

Of  all  animals,  not  even  the  toad  and  tortoise 
excepted,  this  poor  ill-formed  creature  is  the  most 
tenacious  of  life.  It  exists  long  after  it  has  re- 
ceived wounds  which  would  have  destroyed  any 
other  animal;  and  it  may  be  said,  on  seeing  a 
mortally-wounded  sloth,  that  life  disputes  with 
death  every  inch  of  flesh  in  its  body. 

The  Ai  was  wounded  in  the  leg,  and  put  down 
on  the  floor,  about  two  feet  from  the  table ;  it  con- 

uo 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA      91 

trived  to  reacli  the  leg  of  the  table  and  fastened 
himself  on  it,  as  if  wishful  to  ascend.  But  this 
was  its  last  advancing  step :  life  was  ebbing  fast, 
though  imperceptibly;  nor  could  this  singular 
production  of  nature,  which  has  been  formed  of 
a  texture  to  resist  death  in  a  thousand  shapes, 
make  any  stand  against  the  wourali-poison. 

First,  one  fore-leg  let  go  its  hold,  and  dropped 
down  motionless  by  its  side;  the  other  gradually 
did  the  same.  The  fore-legs  having  now  lost  their 
strength,  the  sloth  slowly  doubled  its  body,  and 
placed  its  head  betwixt  its  hind-legs,  which  still 
adhered  to  the  table;  but  when  the  poison  had 
affected  these  also,  it  sank  to  the  ground,  but  sank 
so  gently,  that  you  could  not  distinguish  the  move- 
ment from  an  ordinary  motion ;  and  had  you  been 
ignorant  that  it  was  wounded  with  a  poisoned 
arrow,  you  would  never  have  suspected  that  it 
was  dying.  Its  mouth  was  shut,  nor  had  any 
froth  or  saliva  collected  there. 

There  was  no  subsultus  tendinum,  or  any  visible 
alteration  in  its  breathing.  During  the  tenth 
minute  from  the  time  it  was  wounded  it  stirred, 
and  that  was  all;  and  the  minute  after,  life's  last 
spark  went  out.  From  the  time  the  poison  began 
to  operate,  you  would  have  conjectured  that  sleep 
was  overpowering  it,  and  you  would  have  ex- 
claimed, "Pressitque  jacentem,  dulcis  et  alta 
quies,  pacidseque  simillima  morti." 

There  are  now  two  positive  proofs  of  the  effect 
of  this  fatal  poison ;  viz.,  the  death  of  the  hog,  and 
that  of  the  sloth.  But  still  these  animals  were 
nothing  remarkable  for  size;  and  the  strength  of 


92       WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

the  poison  in  large  animals  might  yet  be  doubted, 
were  it  not  for  what  follows. 

A  large  well-fed  ox,  from  nine  hundred  to  a 
thousand  pounds  weight,  was  tied  to  a  stake  by  a 
rope  sufficiently  long  to  allow  him  to  move  to  and 
fro.  Having  no  large  Coucourite  spikes  at  hand, 
it  was  judged  necessary,  on  account  of  his  supe- 
rior size,  to  put  three  wild-hog  arrows  into  him; 
one  was  sent  into  each  thigh  just  above  the  hock, 
in  order  to  avoid  wounding  a  vital  part,  and  the 
third  was  shot  transversely  into  the  extremity  of 
the  nostril. 

The  poison  seemed  to  take  effect  in  four  min- 
utes. Conscious  as  though  he  would  fall,  the  ox 
set  himself  firmly  on  his  legs,  and  remained  quite 
still  in  the  same  place,  till  about  the  fourteenth 
minute,  when  he  smelled  the  ground,  and  ap- 
peared as  if  inclined  to  walk.  He  advanced  a  pace 
or  two,  staggered,  and  fell,  and  remained  ex- 
tended on  his  side  with  his  head  on  the  ground. 
His  eye,  a  few  minutes  ago  so  bright  and  lively, 
now  became  fixed  and  dim,  and  though  you  put 
your  hand  close  to  it  as  if  to  give  him  a  blow  there, 
he  never  closed  his  eyelid. 

His  legs  were  convulsed,  and  his  head  from 
time  to  time  started  involuntarily;  but  he  never 
showed  the  least  desire  to  raise  it  from  the  ground ; 
he  breathed  hard,  and  emitted  foam  from  his 
mouth.  The  startings,  or  subsultus  tendinum,  now 
became  gradually  weaker  and  weaker ;  his  hinder 
parts  were  fixed  in  death ;  and  in  a  minute  or  two 
more  his  head  and  fore-legs  ceased  to  stir. 

Nothing  now  remained  to  show  that  life  was 
still  within  him,  except  that  his  heart  faintly  beat 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  MIERICA       93 

and  fluttered  at  intervals.  In  five-and-twenty 
minutes  from  the  time  of  his  being  wounded  he 
was  quite  dead.  His  flesh  was  very  sweet  and 
savoury  at  dinner. 

On  taking  a  retrospective  view  of  the  two  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  poisoned  arrows,  and  the  animals 
destroyed  by  them,  it  would  appear  that  the  quan- 
tity of  poison  must  be  proportioned  to  the  animal, 
and  thus  those  probably  labour  under  an  error 
who  imagine  that  the  smallest  particle  of  it  intro- 
duced into  the  blood  has  almost  instantaneous 
effect. 

Make  an  estimate  of  the  difference  in  size  be- 
twixt the  fowl  and  the  ox,  and  then  weigh  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  poison  for  a  blow-pipe  arrow 
with  which  the  fowl  was  killed,  and  weigh  also 
enough  poison  for  three  wild-hog  arrows  which 
destroyed  the  ox,  and  it  will  appear  that  the  fowl 
received  much  more  poison  in  proportion  than  the 
ox.  Hence  the  cause  why  the  fowl  died  m  five 
minutes,  and  the  ox  in  five-and-twenty. 

Indeed,  were  it  the  case  that  the  smallest  parti- 
cle of  it  introduced  into  the  blood  has  almost  in- 
stantaneous effects,  the  Indian  would  not  find  it 
necessary  to  make  the  large  arrow;  that  of  the 
blow-pipe  is  much  easier  made  and  requires  less 
poison. 

And  now  for  the  antidotes,  or  rather  the  sup- 
posed antidotes.  The  Indians  tell  you,  that  if 
the  wounded  animal  be  held  for  a  considerable 
time  up  to  the  mouth  in  water,  the  poison  will  not 
prove  fatal ;  -also  that  the  juice  of  the  sugar-cane 
poured  down  the  throat  will  counteract  the  effects 
of  it.     These  antidotes  were  fairly  tried  upon 


94       WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  A]\IERICA 

full-grown  healthy  fowls,  but  they  all  died,  as 
though  no  steps  had  been  taken  to  preserve  their 
lives.  Rum  was  recommended  and  given  to  an- 
other, but  with  as  little  success. 

It  is  supposed  by  some,  that  wind  introduced 
into  the  lungs  by  means  of  a  small  pair  of  bellows 
would  revive  the  poisoned  patient,  provided  the 
operation  be  continued  for  a  sufficient  length  of 
time.  It  may  be  so;  but  this  is  a  difficult  and  a 
tedious  mode  of  cure,  and  he  who  is  wounded  in 
the  forest  far  away  from  his  friends,  or  in  the  hut 
of  the  savages,  stands  but  a  poor  chance  of  being 
saved  by  it. 

Had  the  Indians  a  sure  antidote,  it  is  likely  they 
would  carry  it  about  with  them,  or  resort  to  it 
immediately  after  being  wounded,  if  at  hand ;  and 
their  confidence  in  its  efficacy  would  greatly  di- 
minish the  horror  they  betray,  when  you  point  a 
poisoned  arrow  at  them. 

One  day,  while  we  were  eating  a  red  monkey, 
erroneously  called  the  baboon  in  Demerara,  an 
Arowack  Indian  told  an  affecting  story  of  what 
happened  to  a  comrade  of  his.  He  was  present  at 
his  death.  As  it  did  not  interest  this  Indian  in 
any  point  to  tell  a  falsehood,  it  is  very  probable 
that  his  account  was  a  true  one.  If  so,  it  appears 
that  there  is  no  certain  antidote,  or  at  least  no 
antidote  that  could  be  resorted  to  in  a  case  of  ur- 
gent need ;  for  the  Indian  gave  up  all  thoughts  of 
life  as  soon  as  he  was  wounded. 

The  Arowack  Indian  said  it  was  but  four  years 
ago  that  he  and  his  companion  were  ranging  in 
the  forest  in  quest  of  game.  His  companion  took  a 
poisoned  arrow,  and  sent  it  at  a  red  monkey  in 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       95 

a  tree  above  him.  It  was  nearly  a  perpendicular 
shot.  The  arrow  missed  the  monkey,  and  in  the 
descent,  struck  him  in  the  arm,  a  little  above  the 
elbow.  He  was  convinced  that  it  was  all  over  with 
him.  "I  shall  never,"  said  he  to  his  companion 
in  a  faltering  voice,  and  looking  at  his  bow  as  he 
said  it,  "I  shall  never,"  said  he,  ''bend  this  bow 
again."  And  having  said  that,  he  took  off  his  lit- 
tle bamboo  poison-box,  which  hung  across  his 
shoulder,  and  putting  it  together  with  his  bow  and 
arrows  on  the  ground,  he  laid  himself  down  close 
by  them,  bid  his  companion  farewell,  and  never 
spoke  more. 

He  who  is  unfortunate  enough  to  be  wounded 
by  a  poisoned  arrow  from  Macoushia  had  better 
not  deiDend  upon  the  common  antidotes  for  a  cure. 
Many  who  have  been  in  Guiana  will  recommend 
immediate  immersion  in  water,  or  to  take  the 
juice  of  the  sugar-cane,  or  to  fill  the  mouth  full  of 
salt;  and  they  recommend  these  antidotes  be- 
cause they  have  got  them  from  the  Indians.  But 
were  you  to  ask  them  if  they  ever  saw  these  anti- 
dotes used  with  success,  it  is  ten  to  one  their  an- 
swer would  be  in  the  negative. 

Wlierefore  let  him  reject  these  antidotes  as  un- 
profitable, and  of  no  avail.  He  has  got  an  active 
and  deadly  foe  within  him,  which,  like  Shake- 
speare's fell  Sergeant  Death,  is  strict  in  his  arrest, 
and  will  allow  him  but  little  time — very — very  lit- 
tle time.  In  a  few  minutes  he  will  be  numbered 
with  the  dead.  Life  ought,  if  possible,  to  be  pre- 
served, be  the  expense  ever  so  great.  Should  the 
part  affected  admit  of  it,  let  a  ligature  be  tied 


96      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

tight  round  the  wound,  and  have  immediate  re- 
course to  the  knife : — 

"Continuo,  culpam  ferro   compesce  priusquam, 
Dira  per  infaustum  serpant  contagia  corpus." 

And  now,  kind  reader,  it  is  time  to  bid  thee 
farewell.  The  two  ends  proposed  have  been  ob- 
tained. The  Portuguese  inland  frontier  fort  has 
been  reached,  and  the  Macoushi  wourali-poison 
acquired.  The  account  of  this  excursion  through 
the  interior  of  Guiana  has  been  submitted  to  thy 
perusal,  in  order  to  induce  thy  abler  genius  to  un- 
dertake a  more  extensive  one.  If  any  difficulties 
have  arisen,  or  fevers  come  on,  they  have  been 
caused  by  the  periodical  rains,  which  fall  in  tor- 
rents as  the  sun  approaches  the  tropic  of  Cancer. 
In  dry  weather  there  would  be  no  difficulties  or 
sickness. 

Amongst  the  many  satisfactory  conclusions 
which  thou  wouldst  be  able  to  draw  during  the 
journey,  there  is  one  which,  perhaps,  would  please 
thee  not  a  little ;  and  that  is  with  regard  to  dogs. 
Many  a  time,  no  doubt,  thou  hast  heard  it  hotly 
disputed,  that  dogs  existed  in  Guiana  previously 
to  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  in  those  parts. 
Whatever  the  Spaniards  introduced,  and  which 
bore  no  resemblance  to  anything  the  Indians  had 
been  accustomed  to  see,  retains  its  Spanish  name 
to  this  day. 

Thus  the  Warow,  the  Arowac,  the  Acoway,  the 
Macoushi,  and  Carib  tribes,  call  a  hat,  sombrero; 
a  shirt,  or  any  kind  of  cloth,  camiso ;  a  shoe,  za- 
pato;  a  letter,  carta;  a  fowl,  gallina;  gunpowder, 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA       97 

colvora,  (Spanish,  polvora) ;  ammunition,  bala; 
a  cow,  baca ;   and  a  dog,  perro. 

This  argues  strongly  against  the  existence  of 
dogs  in  Guiana  before  it  was  discovered  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  probably  may  be  of  use  to  thee,  in 
thy  next  canine  dispute. 

In  a  political  point  of  view  tliis  country  pre- 
sents a  large  field  for  speculation.  A  few  years 
ago  there  was  but  little  inducement  for  any  Eng- 
lishman to  explore  the  interior  of  these  rich  and 
fine  colonies,  as  the  British  Government  did  not 
consider  them  worth  holding  at  the  peace  of 
Amiens.  Since  that  period  their  mother-country 
has  been  blotted  out  from  the  list  of  nations,  and 
Ajnerica  has  unfolded  a  new  sheet  of  politics.  On 
one  side,  the  crown  of  Braganza,  attacked  by  an 
ambitious  chieftain,  has  fled  from  the  palace  of 
its  ancestors,  and  now  seems  fixed  on  the  banks  of 
the  Janeiro.  Cayenne  has  yielded  to  its  arms. 
La  Plata  has  raised  the  standard  of  independence, 
and  thinks  itself  sufficiently  strong  to  obtain  a 
government  of  its  own.  On  the  other  side,  the 
Caraccas  are  in  open  revolt,  and  should  Santa  Fe 
join  them  in  good  earnest,  they  may  form  a  pow- 
erful association. 

Thus,  on  each  side  of  the  ci-devant  Dutch  Gui- 
ana, most  unexpected  and  astonishing  changes 
have  taken  place.  Will  they  raise  or  lower  it  in 
the  scale  of  estimation  at  the  Court  of  St.  James  ? 
Will  they  be  of  benefit  to  these  grand  and  ex- 
tensive colonies?  Colonies  enjoying  perpetual 
summer.  Colonies  of  the  richest  soil.  Colonies 
containing  within  themselves  everything  neces- 
sary for  their  support.    Colonies,  in  fine,  so  varied 

7 


08      WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

in  their  quality  and  situation,  as  to  be  capable 
of  bringing  to  perfection  every  tropical  produc- 
tion; and  only  want  the  support  of  government, 
and  an  enlightened  governor,  to  render  them  as 
fine  as  the  finest  portions  of  the  equatorial  re- 
gions.   Kind  reader,  fare  thee  well. 

LETTER   TO   THE   PORTUGUESE    COMMANDEE 

MUT  Senor, 
Conio  no  tengo  el  honor,  de  scr  conocido  de  VM.  lo  pienso 
mejor,  y  mas  decoroso,  quedarme  aqui,  hastaque  huviere  recibido 
su  respuesta.  Haviendo  caminado  hasta  la  chozo,  adbnde  estoi, 
no  quisiere  volverme,  antes  de  haver  visto  la  fortaleza  de  los 
Portugueses;  y  pido  licencia  de  VM.  para  que  me  adelante.  Hon- 
radissimos  son  mis  motivos,  ni  tengo  proyecto  ninguno,  o  de 
comercio,  o  de  la  soldadesca,  no  siendo  yo,  o  comereiante,  o 
oficial,  Hidalgo  eatolico  soy,  de  hacienda  in  Ynglatierra,  y 
muehos  anos  de  mi  vida  he  pasado  en  caminar.  Ultimamente,  de 
Demeraria  vengo,  la  qual  dexe  el  5  dia  de  Abril,  para  ver  este 
hermoso  pais,  y  coger  unas  curiosidades,  espeeialmente,  el  veneno, 
que  se  llama  wourali.  Las  mas  recentes  noticias  que  tenian  en 
Demeraria,  antes  de  mi  salida,  eran  medias  tristes,  medias  alegres. 
Tristes  digo,  viendo  que  Valencia  ha  eaido  en  poder  del  encmigo 
comun,  y  le  General  Blake,  y  sus  valientes  tropas  quedan  prision- 
eroa  de  guerra.  Alegres,  al  contrario,  porque  Milord  Wellington 
se  ha  apoderado  de  Ciudad  Kodrigo.  A  pesar  de  la  caida  de 
Valencia,  parece  claro  al  mundo,  que  las  cosas  del  enemigo,  estan 
andando,  de  pejor  a  pejor  cada  dia.  Nosotros  debemos  dar 
gracias  al  Altissimo,  por  haver  sido  servido  dexarnos  castigar 
ultimamente,  a  los  robadores  de  sus  santas  Yglesias.  Se  vera 
VM.  que  yo  no  escribo  Portugues  ni  aim  lo  hablo,  pero,  haviendo 
aprendido  el  Castellano,  no  nos  faltara  medio  de  communicar  y 
tener  conversacion.  Kuego  se  escuse  esta  carta  escrita  sin  tinta, 
porque  un  Indio  dexo  caer  mi  tintero  y  quebrose.  Dios  le  de 
a  VM.  muehos  anos  de  salud.     Entretanto,  tengo  el  honor  de  ser 

Su  mas  obedeciente  servidor, 

Carlos  Wateeton, 


EEMARKS 

"Incertus,  quo  fata  ferant,  ubi  sistere  detirr. " 

Kind  and  gentle  reader,  if  the  journey  in  quest 
of  the  wourali-poison  has  engaged  thy  attention, 
probably  thou  mayest  recollect  that  the  traveller 
took  leave  of  thee  at  Fort  St.  Joachim,  on  the 
Rio  Branco.  Shouldest  thou  wish  to  know  what 
befell  him  afterwards,  excuse  the  following  umn- 
teresting  narrative. 

Having  had  a  return  of  fever,  and  aware  that 
the  farther  he  advanced  into  these  wild  and 
lonely  regions,  the  less  would  be  the  chance  of 
regaining  his  health;  he  gave  up  all  idea  of  pro- 
ceeding onwards,  and  went  slowly  back  towards 
the  Demerara,  nearly  by  the  same  route  he  had 
come. 

On  descending  the  falls  in  the  Essequibo,  which 
form  an  oblique  line  quite  across  the  river,  it  was 
resolved  to  push  through  them,  the  downward 
stream  being  in  the  canoe's  favour.  At  a  little 
distance  from  the  place,  a  large  tree  had  fallen 
into  the  river,  and  in  the  meantime  the  canoe  was 
lashed  to  one  of  its  branches.  "^ 

The  roaring  of  the  water  was  dreadful;  it 
foamed  and  dashed  over  the  rocks  with  a  tre- 
mendous spray,  like  breakers  on  a  lee-shore, 
threatening  destruction  to  whatever  approached 
it.    You  would  have  thought,  by  the  confusion  it 

99 


100    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

caused  in  the  river,  and  the  whirlpools  it  made, 
that  Scylla  and  Charybdis,  and  their  whole 
progeny,  had  left  the  Mediterranean,  and  come 
and  settled  here.  The  channel  was  barely  twelve 
feet  wide,  and  the  torrent  in  rushing  down  formed 
traverse  furrows,  which  showed  how  near  the 
rocks  were  to  the  surface. 

Nothing  could  surpass  the  skill  of  the  Indian 
who  steered  the  canoe.  He  looked  steadfastly 
at  it,  then  at  the  rocks,  then  cast  an  eye  on  the 
channel,  and  then  looked  at  the  canoe  again.  It 
was  in  vain  to  speak.  The  sound  was  lost  in  the 
roar  of  waters;  but  his  eye  showed  that  he  had 
already  passed  it  in  imagination.  He  held  up 
his  paddle  in  a  position,  as  much  as  to  say,  that 
he  would  keep  exactly  amid  channel;  and  then 
made  a  sign  to  cut  the  bush  rope  that  held  the 
canoe  to  the  fallen  tree.  The  canoe  drove  down 
the  torrent  with  inconceivable  rapidity.  It  did 
not  touch  the  rocks  once  all  the  way.  The  Indian 
proved  to  a  nicety,  ''medio  tutissimus  ibis." 

Shortly  after  this  it  rained  almost  day  and 
night,  the  lightning  flashing  incessantly,  and  the 
roar  of  thunder  awful  beyond  expression., 

The  fever  returned,  and  pressed  so  heavy  on 
him,  that  to  all  appearance  his  last  day's  march 
was  over.  However,  it  abated ;  his  spirits  rallied, 
and  he  marched  again;  and  after  delays  and 
inconveniences  he  reached  the  house  of  his  worthy 
friend,  Mr.  Edmonstone,  in  Mibiri  Creek,  which 
falls  into  the  Demerara.  No  words  of  his  can 
do  justice  to  the  hospitality  of  that  gentleman, 
whose  repeated  encounters  with  the  hostile  ne- 
groes in  the  forest  have  been  publicly  rewarded, 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    101 

and  will  be  remembered  in  the  colony  for  years 
to  come. 

Here  he  learned  that  an  eruption  had  talicn 
place  in  St.  Vincent's;  and  thus'thc  iioise  heard 
in  the  night  of  the  first  of  May.  wliit^hhad  caiis-ad 
snch  terror  amongst  the  Indians,  and 'made  tne 
garrison  at  Fort  St.  Joachim  remain  under  arms 
the  rest  of  the  night,  is  accounted  for. 

After  experiencing  every  kindness  and  atten- 
tion from  Mr.  Edmonstone,  he  sailed  for  Gra- 
nada, and  from  thence  to  St.  Thomas's,  a  few 
days  before  poor  Captain  Peake  lost  his  life  on 
his  own  quarter-deck,  bravely  fighting  for  his 
country  on  the  coast  of  Guiana. 

At  St.  Thomas's  they  show  you  a  tower,  a  little 
distance  from  the  town,  which  they  say  formerly 
belonged  to  a  Bucanier  chieftain.  Probably  the 
fury  of  besiegers  has  reduced  it  to  its  present 
dismantled  state.  What  still  remains  of  it  bears 
testimony  of  its  former  strength,  and  may  brave 
the  attack  of  time  for  centuries.  You  cannot 
view  its  ruins  without  calling  to  mind  the  exploits 
of.  those  fierce  and  hardy  hunters,  long  the  terror 
of  the  western  world.  While  you  admire  their 
undaunted  courage,  you  lament  that  it  was  often 
stained  with  cruelty;  while  you  extol  their  scru- 
pulous justice  to  each  other,  you  will  find  a  want 
of  it  towards  the  rest  of  mankind.  Often  pos- 
sessed of  enormous  wealth,  often  in  extreme 
poverty,  often  triumphant  on  the  ocean,  and  often 
forced  to  fly  to  the  forests,  their  life  was  an  ever- 
changing  scene  of  advance  and  retreat,  of  glory 
and  disorder,  of  luxury  and  famine.  Spain 
treated  them  as  outlaws  and  pirates,  while  other 


102    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AINIERICA 

European  powers  publicly  disowned  them.  They, 
on  the  other  hand,  maintained  that  injustice  on 
the  part  of  Spain. first  forced  them  to  take  up 
arms  in  self 'd'efeDce;  and  that,  whilst  they  kept 
icviolahle  the  laws' "which  they  had  framed  for 
their  -own  common  benefit  and  protection,  they 
had  a  right  to  consider  as  foes  those  who  treated 
them  as  outlaws.  Under  this  impression  they 
drew  the  sword,  and  rushed  on  as  though  in 
lawful  war,  and  divided  the  spoils  of  victory  in 
the  scale  of  justice. 

After  leaving  St.  Thomas's  a  severe  tertian 
ague  every  now  and  then  kept  putting  the  travel- 
ler in  mind  that  his  shattered  frame,  "starting 
and  shivering  in  the  inconstant  blast,  meagre  and 
pale — the  ghost  of  what  it  was" — wanted  re- 
pairs. Three  years  elapsed  after  arriving  in 
England  before  the  ague  took  its  final  leave  of 
him. 

During  that  time  several  experiments  were 
made  with  the  wourali-poison.  In  London  an 
ass  was  inoculated  with  it,  and  died  in  twelve 
minutes.  The  poison  was  inserted  into  the  leg 
of  another,  round  which  a  bandage  had  been  pre- 
viously tied  a  little  above  the  place  where  the 
wourali  was  introduced.  He  walked  about  as 
usual,  and  ate  his  food  as  though  all  were  right. 
After  an  hour  had  elapsed  the  bandage  was  un- 
tied, and  ten  minutes  after  death  overtook  him. 

A  she-ass  received  the  wourali-poison  in  the 
shoulder,  and  died  apparently  in  ten  minutes. 
An  incision  was  then  made  in  its  windpipe,  and 
through  it  the  lungs  were  regularly  inflated  for 
two  hours  with  a  pair  of  bellows.    Suspended 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    103 

animation  returned.  The  ass  held  up  her  head, 
and  looked  around;  but  the  inflating  being  dis- 
continued, she  sunk  once  more  in  apparent  death. 
The  artificial  breathing  was  immediately  recom- 
menced, and  continued  without  intermission  for 
two  hours.  This  saved  the  ass  from  final  dis- 
solution; she  rose  up,  and  walked  about;  she 
seemed  neither  in  agitation  nor  in  pain.  The 
wound,  through  which  the  poison  entered,  was 
healed  without  difficulty.  Her  constitution,  how- 
ever, was  so  severely  affected  that  it  was  long 
a  doubt  if  ever  she  would  be  well  again.  She 
looked  lean  and  sickly  for  above  a  year,  but 
began  to  mend  the  spring  after,  and  by  Midsum- 
mer became  fat  and  frisky. 

The  kind-hearted  reader  will  rejoice  on  learn- 
ing that  Earl  Percy,  pitying  her  misfortunes, 
sent  her  down  from  London  to  Walton  Hall,  near 
Wakefield.  There  she  goes  by  the  name  of 
Wouralia.  Wouralia  shall  be  sheltered  from  the 
wintry  storm ;  and  when  summer  comes  she  shall 
feed  in  the  finest  pasture.  No  burden  shall  be 
placed  upon  her,  and  she  shall  end  her  days  in 
peace.^ 

For  three  revolving  autumns  the  ague-beaten 
wanderer  never  saw,  without  a  sigh,  the  swallow 
bend  her  flight  towards  warmer  regions.  He 
wished  to  go,  too,  but  could  not ;  for  sickness  had 
enfeebled  him,  and  prudence  pointed  out  the  folly 
of  roving  again  too  soon  across  the  northern 
tropic.  To  be  sure,  the  continent  was  now  open, 
and  change  of  air  might  prove  beneficial;  but 

*  Poor  Wouralia  breathed  her  last  on  the  15th   of  February, 
1839.  having  survived  the  operation  nearly  five-and-twenty  years. 


104    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AIMERICA 

there  was  nothing  very  tempting  in  a  trip  across 
the  Channel,  and  as  for  a  tour  through  England ! 
— England  has  long  ceased  to  be  the  land  for 
adventures.  Indeed,  when  good  King  Arthur 
reappears  to  claim  his  crown  he  will  find  things 
strangely  altered  here;  and  may  we  not  look  for 
his  coming?  for  there  is  written  upon  his  grave- 
stone : — 

"Hie  jacet  Arturus,  Rex  quondam  Eexque  futurus," 
"Here  Arthur  lies,  who   formerly 
Was  king — and  king  again  to  be. ' ' 

Don  Quixote  was  always  of  opinion  that  this 
famous  king  did  not  die,  but  that  he  was  changed 
into  a  raven  by  enchantment,  and  that  the  Eng- 
lish are  momentarily  expecting  his  return.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  when  he  reigned 
here  all  was  harmony  and  joy.  The  browsing 
herds  passed  from  vale  to  vale,  the  swains  sang 
from  the  bluebell-teeming  groves,  and  nymphs 
with  eglantine  and  roses  in  their  neatly-braided 
hair  went  hand  in  hand  to  the  flowery  mead  to 
weave  garlands  for  their  lambkins.  If  by  chance 
some  rude,  uncivil  fellow  dared  to  molest  them, 
or  attempted  to  throw  thorns  in  their  path,  there 
was  sure  to  be  a  knight-errant  not  far  off  ready 
to  rush  forward  in  their  defence.  But  alas!  in 
these  degenerate  days  it  is  not  so.  Should  a 
harmless  cottage  maid  wander  out  of  the  high- 
way to  pluck  a  primrose  or  two  in  the  neighbour- 
ing field  the  haughty  owner  sternly  bids  her 
retire;  and  if  a  pitying  swain  hasten  to  escort 
her  back,  he  is  perhaps  seized  by  the  gaunt  house- 
dog ere  he  reach  her. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    105 

^neas's  route  on  the  other  side  of  Styx  could 
not  have  been  much  worse  than  this,  though,  by 
his  account,  when  he  got  back  to  earth,  it  appears 
that  he  had  fallen  in  with  "Bellua  Lernae,  hor- 
rendum  stridens,  flammisque,  armata  Chimaera.'* 

Moreover,  he  had  a  sibyl  to  guide  his  steps; 
and  as  such  a  conductress  nowadays  could  not  be 
got  for  love  nor  money,  it  was  judged  most  pru- 
dent to  refrain  from  sauntering  through  this 
land  of  freedom,  and  wait  with  patience  the 
return  of  health.  At  last  this  long-looked  for, 
ever  welcome  stranger  came. 


SECOND  JOURNEY 

CHAPTER   I 

In  the  year  1816,  two  days  before  the  vernal 
equinox,  I  sailed  from  Liverpool  for  Pernam- 
buco,  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  on  the  coast  of 
Brazil.  There  is  little  at  this  time  of  the  year  in 
the  European  part  of  the  Atlantic  to  engage  the 
attention  of  the  naturalist.  As  you  go  down  the 
Channel  you  see  a  few  divers  and  gannets.  The 
middle-sized  gulls,  with  a  black  spot  at  the  end 
of  the  wings,  attend  you  a  little  way  into  the  Bay 
of  Biscay.  Wlien  it  blows  a  hard  gale  of  wind 
the  stormy  petrel  makes  its  appearance.  While 
the  sea  runs  mountains  high,  and  every  wave 
threatens  destruction  to  the  labouring  vessel  this 
little  harbinger  of  storms  is  seen  enjoying  itself, 
on  rapid  pinion,  up  and  down  the  roaring  billows. 
When  the  storm  is  over  it  appears  no  more.  It 
is  known  to  every  English  sailor  by  the  name  of 
Mother  Carey's  Chicken.  It  must  have  been 
hatched  in  bolus's  cave,  amongst  a  clutch  of 
squalls  and  tempests;  for  whenever  they  get  out 
upon  the  ocean  it  always  contrives  to  be  of  the 
party. 

Though  the  calms  and  storms,  and  adverse 
winds  in  these  latitudes  are  vexatious,  still,  when 
you  reach  the  trade  winds  you  are  amply  repaid 
for  all  disappointments  and  inconveniences.     The 

106 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     107 

trade  winds  prevail  about  thirty  degrees  on  each 
side  of  the  equator.  This  part  of  the  ocean  may 
be  called  the  Elysian  Fields  of  Neptune's  Em- 
pire; and  the  torrid  zone,  notwithstanding  Ovid's 
remark,  "non  est  habitabilis  sestu,"  is  rendered 
healthy  and  pleasant  by  these  gently-blowing 
breezes.  The  ship  glides  smoothly  on,  and  you 
soon  fmd  yourself  within  the  northern  tropic. 
When  you  are  on  it,  Cancer  is  just  over  your 
head,  and  betwixt  him  and  Capricorn  is  the  high 
road  of  the  Zodiac  forty-seven  degrees  wide, 
famous  for  Phaeton's  misadventure.  His  father 
begged  and  entreated  him  not  to  take  it  into  his 
head  to  drive  parallel  to  the  five  zones,  but  to 
mind  and  keep  on  the  turnpike  which  runs 
obliquely  across  the  equator.  ''There  you  will 
distinctly  see,"  said  he,  "the  ruts  of  my  chariot 
wheels,  'manifesta  rotae  vestigia  cernes.'  But." 
added  he,  "even  suppose  you  keep  on  it,  and 
avoid  the  by-roads,  nevertheless,  my  dear  boy, 
believe  me,  you  will  be  most  sadly  put  to  your 
shifts;  'ardua  prima  via  est,'  the  first  part  of  the 
road  is  confoundedly  steep!  'ultima  via  prona 
est, '  and  after  that  it  is  all  down  hill.  Moreover, 
'per  insidias  iter  est,  formasque  ferarum,'  the 
road  is  full  of  nooses  and  bull-dogs,  'Haemon- 
iosque  arcus,'  and  spring  guns,  'saevaque  cir- 
cuitu,  curvantem  brachia  longo,  Scorpio,'  and 
steel  traps  of  uncommon  size  and  shape."  These 
were  nothing  in  the  eyes  of  Phaeton;  go  he  would, 
so  off  he  set,  full  speed,  four-in-hand.  He  had  a 
tough  drive  of  it;  and  after  doing  a  prodigious 
deal  of  mischief,  very  luckily  for  the  world,  he 


108    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AIMERICA 

got  thrown  out  of  the  box,  and  tumbled  into  the 
river  Po. 

Some  of  our  modern  bloods  have  been  shallow 
enough  to  try  to  ape  this  poor,  empty-headed 
coachman,  on  a  little  scale,  making  London  their 
Zodiac.  Well  for  them,  if  tradesmen's  bills,  and 
other  trivial  perplexities,  have  not  caused  them 
to  be  thrown  into  the  King's  Bench. 

The  productions  of  the  torrid  zone  are  uncom- 
monly grand.  Its  plains,  its  swamps,  its  savan- 
nas, and  forests  abound  with  the  largest  serpents 
and  wild  beasts;  and  its  trees  are  the  habitation 
of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  feathered  race. 
While  the  traveller  in  the  old  world  is  astonished 
at  the  elephant,  the  tiger,  the  lion,  and  rhinoceros, 
he  who  wanders  through  the  torrid  regions  of  the 
new,  is  lost  in  admiration  at  the  cotingas,  the 
toucans,  the  humming-birds,  and  aras. 

The  ocean,  likewise,  swarms  with  curiosities. 
Probably  the  Flying-fish  may  be  considered  as  one 
of  the  most  singular.  This  little  scaled  inhabit- 
ant of  water  and  air  seems  to  have  been  more 
favoured  than  the  rest  of  its  finny  brethren.  It 
can  rise  out  of  the  waves,  and  on  wing  visit  the 
domain  of  the  birds. 

After  flying  two  or  three  hundred  yards,  the 
intense  heat  of  the  sun  has  dried  its  pellucid 
wings,  and  it  is  obliged  to  wet  them  in  order  to 
continue  its  flight.  It  just  drops  into  the  ocean 
for  a  moment,  and  then  rises  again  and  flies  on; 
and  then  descends  to  remoisten  them,  and  then 
up  again  into  the  air ;  thus  passing  its  life,  some- 
times wet,  sometimes  dry,  sometimes  in  sunshine, 
and  sometimes  in  the  pale  moon's  nightly  beam, 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     109 

as  pleasure  dictates,  or  as  need  requires.  The 
additional  assistance  of  wings  is  not  thrown  away 
ujion  it.  It  has  full  occupation  both  for  fins  and 
wings,  as  its  life  is  in  perpetual  danger. 

The  Bonito  and  Albicore  chase  it  day  and 
night;  but  the  Dolphin  is  its  worst  and  swiftest 
foe.  If  it  escape  into  the  air,  the  dolphin  pushes 
on  with  proportional  velocity  beneath,  and  is 
ready  to  snap  it  up  the  moment  it  descends  to  wet 
its  wings. 

You  will  often  see  above  one  hundred  of  these 
little  marine  aerial  fugitives  on  the  wing  at  once. 
They  appear  to  use  every  exertion  to  prolong 
their  flight,  but  vain  are  all  their  efforts;  for 
when  the  last  drop  of  water  on  their  wings  is 
dried  up,  their  flight  is  at  an  end,  and  they  must 
drop  into  the  ocean.  Some  are  instantly  devoured 
by  their  merciless  pursuer,  part  escape  by  swim- 
ming, and  others  get  out  again  as  quick  as  pos- 
sible, and  trust  once  more  to  their  wings. 

It  often  happens  that  this  unfortunate  little 
creature,  after  alternate  dips  and  flights,  finding 
all  its  exertions  of  no  avail,  at  last  drops  on  board 
the  vessel,  verifying  the  old  remark, 

"Incidit  in  Scyllam,  cupiens  vitare  Charybdim. " 

There,  stunned  by  the  fall,  it  beats  the  deck 
with  its  tail  and  dies.  When  eating  it,  you  would 
take  it  for  a  fresh  herring.  The  largest  measure 
from  fourteen  to  fifteen  inches  in  length.  The 
dolphin,  after  pursuing  it  to  the  ship,  sometimes 
forfeits  his  own  life. 

In  days  of  yore,  the  musician  used  to  play  in 
softest,  sweetest  strain,  and  then  take  an  airing 


110    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  A^IERICA 

amongst  the  dolphins;  ''inter  delphinas  Arion." 
But  nowadays,  our  tars  have  quite  capsized  the 
custom;  and  instead  of  riding  ashore  on  the 
dolphin,  they  invite  the  dolphin  aboard.  While 
he  is  darting  and  playing  around  the  vessel,  a 
sailor  goes  out  to  the  spritsailyard-arm,  and  with 
a  long  staff,  leaded  at  one  end,  and  armed  at  the 
other  with  five  barbed  spikes,  he  heaves  it  at  him. 
If  successful  in  his  aim,  there  is  a  fresh  mess  for 
all  hands.  The  dying  dolphin  affords  a  superb 
and  brilliant  sight: 

"Mille  trahit  moriens,  adverse  sole  colores." 

All  the  colours  of  the  rainbow  pass  and  repass 
in  rapid  succession  over  his  body,  till  the  dark 
hand  of  death  closes  the  scene. 

From  the  Cape  de  Verd  islands  to  the  coast  of 
Brazil,  you  see  several  different  kinds  of  gulls, 
which  probably  are  bred  in  the  island  of  St.  Paul. 
Sometimes  the  large  bird  called  the  Frigate  Peli- 
can soars  majestically  over  the  vessel,  and  the 
Tropic-Bird  comes  near  enough  to  let  you  have  a 
fair  view  of  the  long  feathers  in  his  tail.  On  the 
line,  when  it  is  calm.  Sharks  of  a  tremendous  size 
make  their  appearance.  They  are  descried  from 
the  ship  by  means  of  the  dorsal  fin,  which  is 
above  the  water. 

On  entering  the  bay  of  Pernambuco,  the  Frigate 
Pelican  is  seen  watching  the  shoals  of  fish  from  a 
prodigious  height.  It  seldom  descends  without  a 
successful  attack  on  its  numerous  prey  below. 

As  you  approach  the  shore,  the  view  is  charm- 
ing.    The  hills  are  clothed  with  wood,  gradually 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     111 

rising  towards  the  interior,  none  of  them  of  any 
considerable  height.  A  singular  reef  of  rocks 
runs  parallel  to  the  coast,  and  forms  the  harbour 
of  Pernambuco.  The  vessels  are  moored  betwixt 
it  and  the  town,  safe  from  every  storm.  You 
enter  the  harbour  through  a  very  narrow  passage, 
close  by  a  fort  built  on  the  reef.  The  hill  of 
Olinda,  studded  with  houses  and  convents,  is  on 
your  right  hand,  and  an  island  thickly  planted 
with  cocoa-nut  trees,  adds  considerably  to  the 
scene  on  your  left.  There  are  two  strong  forts 
on  the  istlmius,  betwixt  Olinda  and  Pernambuco, 
and  a  pillar  midway  to  aid  the  pilot. 

Pernambuco  probably  contains  upwards  of  fifty 
thousand  souls.  It  stands  on  a  flat,  and  is  divided 
into  three  parts — a  peninsula,  an  island,  and  the 
continent.  Though  within  a  few  degrees  of  the 
line,  its  climate  is  remarkably  salubrious,  and 
rendered  almost  temperate  by  the  refreshing  sea 
breeze.  Had  art  and  judgment  contributed  their 
portion  to  its  natural  advantages,  Pernambuco 
at  this  day,  would  have  been  a  stately  ornament 
to  the  coast  of  Brazil.  On  viewing  it,  it  will 
strike  you  that  every  one  has  built  his  house  en- 
tirely for  himself,  and  deprived  public  convenience 
of  the  little  claim  she  had  a  right  to  put  in.  You 
would  wish  that  this  city,  so  famous  for  its  har- 
bour, so  happy  in  its  climate,  and  so  well  situated 
for  commerce,  could  have  risen  under  the  flag  of 
Dido,  in  lieu  of  that  of  Braganza. 

As  you  walk  down  the  streets,  the  appearance 
of  the  houses  is  not  much  in  their  favour.  Some 
of  them  are  very  high,  and  some  very  low;  some 
newly    whitewashed,    and    others    stained,    and 


112     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

mouldy,  and  neglected,  as  though  they  had  no 
owner. 

The  balconies,  too,  are  of  a  dark  and  gloomy 
appearance.  They  are  not,  in  general,  open,  as 
in  most  tropical  cities,  but  grated  like  a  farmer's 
dairj^  window,  though  somewhat  closer. 

There  is  a  lamentable  want  of  cleanliness  in  the 
streets.  The  impurities  from  the  houses,  and  the 
accumulation  of  litter  from  the  beasts  of  burden, 
are  unpleasant  sights  to  the  passing  stranger. 
He  laments  the  want  of  a  police  as  he  goes  along ; 
and  when  the  wind  begins  to  blow,  his  nose  and 
eyes  are  too  often  exposed  to  a  cloud  of  very 
unsavoury  dust. 

When  you  view  the  port  of  Pernambuco,  full  of 
ships  of  all  nations,  when  you  know  that  the 
richest  commodities  of  Europe,  Africa,  and  Asia 
are  brought  to  it;  when  you  see  immense  quanti- 
ties of  cotton,  dye-wood,  and  the  choicest  fruits 
pouring  into  the  town,  you  are  apt  to  wonder  at 
the  little  attention  these  people  pay  to  the  common 
comforts  which  one  always  expects  to  find  in  a 
large  and  opulent  city.  However,  if  the  inhabit- 
ants are  satisfied,  there  is  nothing  more  to  be  said. 
Should  they  ever  be  convinced  that  inconveniences 
exist,  and  that  nuisances  are  too  frequent,  the 
remedy  is  in  their  own  hands.  At  present,  cer- 
tainly, they  seem  perfectly  regardless  of  them; 
and  the  Captain-General  of  Pernambuco  walks 
through  the  streets  with  as  apparent  content 
and  composure  as  an  English  statesman  would 
proceed  down  Charing-cross.  Custom  reconciles 
everything.  In  a  week  or  two  the  stranger  him- 
self begins  to  feel  less  the  things  which  annoyed 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     113 

him  so  much  upon  his  first  arrival,  and  after  a  few 
months'  residence,  he  thinks  no  more  about  them, 
while  he  is  partaking  of  the  hospitality,  and  en- 
joying the  elegance  and  splendour  within  doors 
in  this  great  city. 

Close  by  the  river-side  stands  what  is  called 
the  palace  of  the  Captain-General  of  Pernambuco. 
Its  form  and  appearance  altogether  strike  the 
traveller  that  it  was  never  intended  for  the  use  it 
is  at  present  put  to. 

Reader,  throw  a  veil  over  thy  recollection  for  a 
little  while,  and  forget  the  cruel,  unjust,  and 
unmerited  censures  thou  hast  heard  against  an 
unoffending  order.  This  palace  was  once  the 
Jesuits'  college,  and  originally  built  by  those 
charitable  fathers.  Ask  the  aged  and  respectable 
inhabitants  of  Pernambuco,  and  they  will  tell 
thee  that  the  destruction  of  the  Society  of  Jesus 
was  a  terrible  disaster  to  the  public,  and  its  con- 
sequences severely  felt  to  the  present  day. 

When  Pombal  took  the  reins  of  power  into  his 
own  hands,  virtue  and  learning  beamed  bright 
within  the  college  walls.  Public  catechism  to  the 
children,  and  religious  instruction  to  all,  flowed 
daily  from  the  mouths  of  its  venerable  priests. 

They  were  loved,  revered,  and  respected 
throughout  the  whole  town.  The  illuminating 
philosophers  of  the  day  had  sworn  to  exterminate 
Christian  knowledge,  and  the  college  of  Pernam- 
buco was  doomed  to  founder  in  the  general  storm. 
To  the  long-lasting  sorrow  and  disgrace  of  Por- 
tugal, the  philosophers  blinded  her  king  and 
flattered  her  prime  minister.  Pombal  was  exactly 
the  tool  these  sappers  of  every  public  and  private 

8 


114    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

virtue  wanted.  He  had  the  naked  sword  of  power 
in  his  own  hand,  and  his  heart  was  as  hard  as 
flint.  He  struck  a  mortal  hlow,  and  the  Society 
of  Jesus,  throughout  the  Portuguese  dominions, 
was  no  more. 

One  morning  all  the  fathers  of  the  college  in 
Pemambuco,  some  of  them  very  old  and  feeble, 
were  suddenly  ordered  into  the  refectory.  They 
had  notice  beforehand  of  the  fatal  storm,  in  pity 
from  the  governor,  but  not  one  of  them  aban- 
doned his  charge.  They  had  done  their  duty,  and 
had  nothing  to  fear.  They  bowed  with  resigna- 
tion to  the  will  of  Heaven.  As  soon  as  they  had 
all  reached  the  refectory,  they  were  there  locked 
up,  and  never  more  did  they  see  their  rooms,  their 
friends,  their  scholars,  or  acquaintance.  In  the 
dead  of  the  following  night,  a  strong  guard  of 
soldiers  literally  drove  them  through  the  streets 
to  the  water's  edge.  They  were  then  conveyed 
in  boats  aboard  a  ship,  and  steered  for  Bahia. 
Those  who  survived  the  barbarous  treatment  they 
experienced  from  Pombal's  creatures  were  at 
last  ordered  to  Lisbon.  The  college  of  Pernam- 
buco  was  plundered,  and  some  time  after  an  ele- 
phant was  kept  there. 

Thus  the  arbitrary  hand  of  power,  in  one  night, 
smote  and  swept  away  the  sciences ;  to  which  suc- 
ceeded the  low,  vulgar  buffoonery  of  a  showman. 
Virgil  and  Cicero  made  way  for  a  wild  beast  from 
Angola!  and  now  a  guard  is  on  duty  at  the  very 
gate  where,  in  times  long  past,  the  poor  were 
daily  fed!  !  ! 

Trust  not,  kind  reader,  to  the  envious  remarks 
which  their  enemies  have  scattered  far  and  near; 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     115 

believe  not  the  stories  of  those  who  have  had  a 
hand  in  the  sad  tragedy.  Go  to  Brazil,  and  see 
with  thine  own  eyes  the  effect  of  Pombal's  short- 
sighted policy.  There  vice  reigns  triiunphant, 
and  learning  is  at  its  lowest  ebb.  Neither  is  this 
to  be  wondered  at.  Destroy  the  compass,  and 
will  the  vessel  find  her  far-distant  port?  "Will 
the  flock  keep  together,  and  escape  the  wolves, 
after  the  shepherds  are  all  slain?  The  Brazilians 
were  told  that  public  education  would  go  on  just 
as  usual.  They  might  have  asked  government, 
who  so  able  to  instruct  our  youth  as  those  whose 
knowledge  is  proverbial?  who  so  fit,  as  those  who 
enjoy  our  entire  confidence?  who  so  worthy,  as 
those  whose  lives  are  irreproachable? 

They  soon  found  that  those  who  succeeded  the 
fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  had  neither  their 
manners  nor  their  abilities.  They  had  not  made 
the  instruction  of  youth  their  particular  study. 
Moreover,  they  entered  on  the  field  after  a  defeat, 
where  the  officers  had  all  been  slain;  where  the 
plan  of  the  campaign  was  lost;  where  all  was  in 
sorrow  and  dismay.  No  exertions  of  theirs  could 
rally  the  dispersed,  or  skill  prevent  the  fatal  con- 
sequences. At  the  present  day,  the  seminary  of 
Olinda,  in  comparison  with  the  former  Jesuits' 
college,  is  only  as  the  waning  moon's  beam  to  the 
sun's  meridian  splendour. 

AVhen  you  visit  the  places  where  those  learned 
fathers  once  flourished,  and  see  with  your  own 
eyes  the  evils  their  dissolution  has  caused;  when 
you  hear  the  inhabitants  telling  you  how  good, 
how  clever,  how  charitable  they  were;  what  will 
you  think  of  our  poet  laureate  for  calling  them, 


116    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

in  his  ''History  of  Brazil,"  "Missioners,  whose 
zeal  the  most  fanatical  was  directed  by  the  coolest 
policy"? 

Was  it  fanatical  to  renounce  the  honours  and 
comforts  of  this  transitory  life,  in  order  to  gain 
eternal  glory  in  the  next,  by  denying  themselves, 
and  taking  up  the  cross?  Was  it  fanatical  to 
preach  salvation  to  innumerable  wild  hordes  of 
iVmericans?  to  clothe  the  naked!  to  encourage  the 
repenting  sinner?  to  aid  the  dying  Christian? 
The  fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  did  all  this. 
And  for  this  their  zeal  is  pronounced  to  be  the 
most  fanatical,  directed  by  the  coolest  policy.  It 
will  puzzle  many  a  clear  brain  to  comprehend  how 
it  is  possible,  in  the  nature  of  things,  that  zeal  the 
most  fanatical  should  be  directed  by  the  coolest 
policy.  Ah,  Mr.  Laureate,  Mr.  Laureate,  that 
"quidlibet  audendi"  of  yours,  may  now  and  then 
gild  the  poet,  at  the  same  time  that  it  makes  the 
historian  cut  a  sorry  figure ! 

Could  Father  Nobrega  rise  from  the  tomb,  he 
would  thus  address  you: — ** Ungrateful  English- 
man, you  have  drawn  a  great  part  of  your  in- 
formation from  the  writings  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  and  in  return  you  attempt  to  stain  its  char- 
acter by  telling  your  countrymen  that  'we  taught 
the  idolatry  we  believed!'  In  speaking  of  me, 
you  say,  it  was  my  happy  fortune  to  be  stationed 
in  a  country  where  none  but  the  good  principles 
of  my  order  were  called  into  action.  Ungenerous 
laureate,  the  narrow  policy  of  the  times  has  kept 
your  countrymen  in  the  dark  with  regard  to  the 
true  character  of  the  Society  of  Jesus;  and  you 
draw  the  bandage  still  tighter  over  their  eyes  by 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    117 

a  malicious  insinuation.  I  lived,  and  taught,  and 
died  in  Brazil,  where  you  state  that  none  but  the 
good  principles  of  my  order  were  called  into 
action,  and  still,  in  most  absolute  contradiction  to 
this,  you  remark  we  believed  the  idolatry  we 
taught  in  Brazil.  Thus  we  brought  none  but  good 
principles  into  action,  and  still  taught  idolatry! 

"Again,  you  state  there  is  no  individual  to 
whose  talents  Brazil  is  so  greatly  and  permanently 
indebted  as  mine,  and  that  I  must  be  regarded  as 
the  founder  of  that  system  so  successfully  pur- 
sued by  the  Jesuits  in  Paraguay;  a  system  pro- 
ductive of  as  much  good  as  is  compatible  with 
pious  fraud.  Thus  you  make  me,  at  one  and  the 
same  time,  a  teacher  of  none  but  good  principles, 
and  a  teacher  of  idolatry,  and  a  believer  in 
idolatry,  and  still  the  founder  of  a  system  for 
which  Brazil  is  greatly  and  permanently  indebted 
to  me,  though,  by  the  by,  the  system  was  only 
productive  of  as  much  good  as  is  compatible  with 
pious  fraud ! 

''What  means  all  this?  After  reading  such  in- 
comparable nonsense,  should  your  countrymen 
wish  to  be  properly  informed  concerning  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  there  are  in  England  documents 
enough  to  show  that  the  system  of  the  Jesuits  was 
a  system  of  Christian  charity  towards  their  fel- 
low-creatures, administered  in  a  manner  which 
human  prudence  judged  best  calculated  to  ensure 
success ;  and  that  the  idolatry  which  you  unchari- 
tably affirm  they  taught,  was  really  and  truly  the 
very  same  faith  which  the  Catholic  Church  taught 
for  centuries  in  England,  which  she  still  teaches 
to  those  who  wish  to  hear  her,  and  which  she  will 


118    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

continue  to  teacli,  pure  and  unspotted,  till  time 
shall  be  no  more." 

The  en\'irons  of  Pernambuco  are  very  pretty. 
You  see  country  houses  in  all  directions,  and  the 
appearance  of  here  and  there  a  sugar  plantation 
enriches  the  scenery.  Palm-trees,  Cocoa-nut- 
trees,  Orange  and  Lemon  groves,  and  all  the 
different  fruits  peculiar  to  Brazil,  are  here  in  the 
greatest  abundance. 

At  Olinda  there  is  a  national  botanical  garden; 
it  wants  space,  produce,  and  improvement.  The 
forests,  which  are  several  leagues  off,  abound 
with  birds,  beasts,  insects,  and  serpents.  Besides 
a  brilliant  plumage,  many  of  the  birds  have  a  very 
fine  song.  The  Troupiale,  noted  for  its  rich 
colours,  sings  delightfully  in  the  environs  of 
Pernambuco.  The  Red-headed  Finch,  larger  than 
the  European  sparrow,  pours  forth  a  sweet  and 
varied  strain,  in  company  with  two  species  of 
wrens,  a  little  before  daylight.  There  are  also 
several  species  of  the  tlirush,  which  have  a  song 
somewhat  different  from  that  of  the  European 
thrush ;  and  two  species  of  the  linnet,  whose  strain 
is  so  soft  and  sweet  that  it  dooms  them  to  cap- 
tivity in  the  Houses.  A  bird  called  here  Sangre 
do  Buey,  blood  of  the  ox,  cannot  fail  to  engage 
your  attention;  he  is  of  the  passerine  tribe,  and 
very  common  about  the  houses ;  the  wings  and  tail 
are  black,  and  every  other  part  of  the  body  a 
flaming  red.  In  Guiana,  there  is  a  species  exactly 
the  same  as  this  in  shape,  note,  and  economy,  but 
different  in  colour,  its  whole  body  being  like  black 
velvet;  on  its  breast  a  tinge  of  red  appears 
through  the  black.     Thus  nature  has  ordered  this 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    119 

little  Tangara  to  put  on  mourning  to  tlie  north  of 
the  line,  and  wear  scarlet  to  the  south  of  it. 

For  three  months  in  the  year  the  environs  of 
Pernambuco  are  animated  beyond  description. 
From  November  to  March  the  weather  is  particu- 
larly fine;  then  it  is  that  rich  and  poor,  young 
and  old,  foreigners  and  natives,  all  issue  from  the 
city  to  enjoy  the  country,  till  Lent  approaches, 
when  back  they  hie  them.  Villages  and  hamlets, 
where  nothing  before  but  rags  was  seen,  now 
shine  in  all  the  elegance  of  dress;  every  house, 
every  room,  every  shed  becomes  eligible  places  for 
those  whom  nothing  but  extreme  necessity  could 
have  forced  to  live  there  a  few  weeks  ago :  some 
join  in  the  merry  dance,  others  saunter  up  and 
down  the  orange-groves ;  and  towards  evening  the 
roads  become  a  moving  scene  of  silk  and  jewels. 
The  gaming-tables  have  constant  visitors;  there, 
thousands  are  daily  and  nightly  lost  and  won; 
parties  even  sit  down  to  try  their  luck  round  the 
outside  of  the  door  as  well  as  in  the  room : — 

"Vestibulum  ante  ipsnm  primisque  in  fancibus  aulas 
Luctus  et  ultrices,  posuere  sedilia  curge. " 

About  six  or  seven  miles  from  Pernambuco 
stands  a  pretty  little  village  called  Monteiro ;  the 
river  runs  close  by  it,  and  its  rural  beauties  seem 
to  surpass  all  others  in  the  neighbourhood;  there 
the  Captain-General  of  Pernambuco  resides  dur- 
ing this  time  of  merriment  and  joy. 

The  traveller  who  allots  a  portion  of  his  time 
to  peep  at  his  fellow-creatures  in  their  relaxations, 
and  accustoms  himself  to  read  their  several  little 
histories  in  their  looks  and  gestures  as  he  goes 


12  J    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

musing  on,  may  have  full  occupation  for  an  hour 
or  two  every  day  at  this  season  amid  the  varie- 
gated scenes  round  the  pretty  village  of  Monteiro. 
In  the  evening  groups  sitting  at  the  door,  he  may 
sometimes  see  with  a  sigh  how  wealth  and  the 
prince's  favour  cause  a  booby  to  pass  for  a  Solon, 
and  be  reverenced  as  such,  while  perhaps  a  poor, 
neglected  Camoens  stands  silent  at  a  distance, 
awed  by  the  dazzling  glare  of  wealth  and  power. 
Retired  from  the  public  road  he  may  see  poor 
Maria  sitting  under  a  palm-tree,  with  her  elbow 
in  her  lap,  and  her  head  leaning  on  one  side  within 
her  hand,  weeping  over  her  forbidden  bans.  And 
as  he  moves  on  ''with  wandering  step  and  slow," 
he  may  hear  a  broken-hearted  nymph  ask  her 
faithless  swain, — 

"How  could  you  say  my  face  was  fair, 
And  yet  that  face  forsake? 
How  could  you  win  my  virgin  heart, 
Yet  leave  that  heart  to  break?" 

One  afternoon,  in  an  unfrequented  part  not  far 
from  Monteiro,  these  adventures  were  near  being 
brought  to  a  speedy  and  a  final  close :  six  or  seven 
blackbirds,  with  a  white  spot  betwixt  the  shoul- 
ders, were  making  a  noise,  and  passing  to  and 
fro  on  the  lower  branches  of  a  tree  in  an  aban- 
doned, weed-grown,  orange  orchard.  In  the  long 
grass  underneath  the  tree,  apparently  a  pale  green 
grasshopper  was  fluttering,  as  though  it  had  got 
entangled  in  it.  Wlien  you  once  fancy  that  the 
thing  you  are  looking  at  is  really  what  you  take  it 
for,  the  more  you  look  at  it  the  more  you  are  con- 
vinced that  it  is  so.    In  the  present  case,  this  was 


Blaekliirds  and  Eattle-snake 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    121 

a  grasshopper  beyond  all  doubt,  and  nothing  more 
remained  to  be  done  but  to  wait  in  patience  till  it 
had  settled,  in  order  that  you  might  run  no  risk 
of  breaking  its  legs  in  attempting  to  lay  hold  of  it 
while  it  was  fluttering — it  still  kept  fluttering ;  and 
having  quietly  approached  it,  intending  to  make 
sure  of  it — behold,  the  head  of  a  large  rattle- 
snake appeared  in  the  grass  close  by:  an  instan- 
taneous spring  backwards  prevented  fatal  conse- 
quences. What  had  been  taken  for  a  grasshopper 
was,  in  fact,  the  elevated  rattle  of  the  snake  in  the 
act  of  announcing  that  he  was  quite  prepared, 
though  unwilling,  to  make  a  sure  and  deadly 
spring.  He  shortly  after  passed  slowly  from  un- 
der the  orange- tree  to  the  neighbouring  wood  on 
the  side  of  a  hill :  as  he  moved  over  a  place  bare 
of  grass  and  weeds,  he  appeared  to  be  about  eight 
feet  long;  it  was  he  who  had  engaged  the  atten- 
tion of  the  birds,  and  made  them  heedless  of  dan- 
ger from  another  quarter :  they  flew  away  on  his 
retiring;  one  alone  left  his  little  life  in  the  air, 
destined  to  become  a  specimen,  mute  and  motion- 
less, for  the  inspection  of  the  curious  in  a  far 
distant  clime. 

It  was  now  the  rainy  season;  the  birds  were 
moulting;  fifty-eight  specimens  of  the  hand- 
somest of  them  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Pernam- 
buco  had  been  collected;  and  it  was  time  to 
proceed  elsewhere.  The  conveyance  to  the  in- 
terior was  by  horses;  and  this  mode,  together 
with  the  heavy  rains,  would  expose  preserved 
specimens  to  almost  certain  damage.  The  jour- 
ney to  Maranham  by  land  would  take  at  least 
forty  days.     The  route  was  not  wild  enough  to 


122    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AlVIERICA 

engage  the  attention  of  an  explorer,  or  civilized 
enough  to  afford  common  comforts  to  a  traveller. 
By  sea  there  were  no  opportunities,  except  slave 
ships.  As  the  transporting  poor  negroes  from 
port  to  port  for  sale  pays  well  in  Brazil,  the  ships' 
decks  are  crowded  with  them.    This  would  not  do. 

Excuse  here,  benevolent  reader,  a  small  tribute 
of  gratitude  to  an  Irish  family,  wliose  urbanity 
and  goodness  have  long  gained  it  the  esteem  and 
respect  of  all  ranks  in  Pernambuco.  The  kindness 
and  attention  I  received  from  Dennis  Kearney, 
Esq.,  and  his  amiable  lady,  will  be  remembered 
with  gratitude  to  my  dying  day. 

After  mshing  farewell  to  this  hospitable  fam- 
ily, I  embarked  on  board  a  Portuguese  brig,  with 
poor  accommodation,  for  Cayenne  in  Guiana.  The 
most  eligible  bedroom  was  the  top  of  a  hen-coop 
on  deck.  Even  here,  an  unsavoury  little  beast, 
called  bug,  was  neither  shy  nor  deficient  in  appe- 
tite. 

The  Portuguese  seamen  are  famed  for  catching 
fish.  One  evening,  under  the  line,  four  sharks 
made  their  appearance  in  the  wake  of  the  vessel. 
The  sailors  caught  them  all. 


CHAPTER  II 

On  the  fourteenth  day  after  leaving  Pernam- 
bueo,  the  brig  cast  anchor  off  the  island  of  Cay- 
enne. The  entrance  is  beautiful.  To  windward, 
not  far  off,  there  are  two  bold  wooded  islands, 
called  the  Father  and  Mother;  and  near  them 
are  others,  their  children,  smaller,  though  as 
beautiful  as  their  parents.  Another  is  seen  a 
long  way  to  leeward  of  the  family,  and  seems  as 
if  it  had  strayed  from  home,  and  cannot  find  its 
way  back.  The  French  call  it  ''1 'enfant  perdu." 
As  you  pass  the  islands,  the  stately  liills  on  the 
main,  ornamented  with  ever- verdant  foliage, 
show  you  that  this  is  by  far  the  sublimest  scenery 
on  the  sea-coast,  from  the  Amazons  to  the  Oroo- 
noque.  On  casting  your  eye  towards  Dutch  Guiana, 
you  will  see  that  the  mountains  become  uncon- 
nected and  few  in  number,  and  long  before  you 
reach  Surinam  the  Atlantic  wave  washes  a  flat 
and  muddy  shore. 

Considerably  to  windward  of  Cayenne,  and 
about  twelve  leagues  from  land,  stands  a  stately 
and  towering  rock,  called  the  Constable.  As  noth- 
ing grows  on  it  to  tempt  greedy  and  aspiring  man 
to  claim  it  as  his  own,  the  sea-fowl  rest  and  raise 
their  offspring  there.  The  bird  called  the  Frigate 
is  ever  soaring  round  its  rugged  summit.  Hither 
the  Phaeton  bends  his  rapid  flight,  and  flocks  of 
rosy  Flamingos  here  defy  the  fowler's  cunning. 

133 


124    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMEHICA 

All  along  the  coast,  opposite  the  Constable,  and 
indeed  on  every  uncultivated  part  of  it  to  wind- 
ward and  leeward,  are  seen  innumerable  quanti- 
ties of  Snow-white  Egrets,  Scarlet  Curlews, 
Spoonbills,  and  Flamingos. 

Cayenne  is  capable  of  being  a  noble  and  pro- 
ductive colony.  At  present  it  is  thought  to  be  the 
poorest  on  the  coast  of  Guiana.  Its  estates  are 
too  much  separated  one  from  the  other  by  im- 
mense tracts  of  forest;  and  the  revolutionary 
war,  like  a  cold  eastern  wind,  has  chilled  their 
zeal  and  blasted  their  best  expectations. 

The  Clove-tree,  the  Cinnamon,  Pepper  and 
Nutmeg,  and  many  other  choice  spices  and  fruits 
of  the  eastern  and  Asiatic  regions,  produce  abun- 
dantly in  Cayenne. 

The  town  itself  is  prettily  laid  out,  and  was 
once  well  fortified.  They  tell  you  it  might  easily 
have  been  defended  against  the  invading  force 
of  the  two  united  nations ;  but  Victor  Hugues,  its 
governor,  ordered  the  tri-coloured  flag  to  be 
struck;  and  ever  since  that  day  the  standard  of 
Braganza  has  waved  on  the  ramparts  of  Cayenne. 

He  who  has  received  humiliations  from  the 
hand  of  this  haughty,  iron-hearted  governor,  may 
see  him  now  in  Cayenne,  stripped  of  all  his  revo- 
lutionary honours,  broken  down  and  ruined,  and 
under  arrest  in  his  own  house.  He  has  four  ac- 
complished daughters,  respected  by  the  whole 
town.  Towards  the  close  of  day,  when  the  sun's 
rays  are  no  longer  oppressive,  these  much-pitied 
ladies  are  seen  walking  up  and  down  the  balcony 
with  their  aged  parent,  trying,  by  their  kind  and 


The  Ecret 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    125 

filial  attention,  to  remove  the  settled  gloom  from 
his  too  guilty  brow. 

This  was  not  the  time  for  a  traveller  to  enjoy 
Cayenne.  The  hospitality  of  the  inhabitants  was 
the  same  as  ever,  but  they  had  lost  their  wonted 
gaiety  in  public,  and  the  stranger  might  read  in 
their  countenances,  as  the  recollection  of  recent 
humiliations  and  misfortunes  every  now  and  then 
kept  breaking  in  upon  them,  that  they  were  still 
in  sorrow  for  their  fallen  country :  the  victorious 
hostile  cannon  of  Waterloo  still  sounded  in  their 
ears :  their  Emperor  was  a  prisoner  amongst  the 
hideous  rocks  of  St.  Helena ;  and  many  a  French- 
man who  had  fought  and  bled  for  France  was  now 
amongst  them,  begging  for  a  little  support  to  pro- 
long a  life  which  would  be  forfeited  on  the  parent 
soil.  To  add  another  handful  to  the  cypress  and 
wormwood  already  scattered  amongst  these  po- 
lite colonists,  they  had  just  received  orders  from 
the  court  of  Janeiro  to  put  on  deep  mourning  for 
six  months,  and  half-mourning  for  as  many  more, 
on  account  of  the  death  of  the  Queen  of  Portugal. 

About  a  day's  journey  in  the  interior  is  the 
celebrated  national  plantation.  This  spot  was 
judiciously  chosen,  for  it  is  out  of  the  reach  of 
enemies'  cruisers.  It  is  called  La  Gabrielle.  No 
plantation  in  the  western  world  can  vie  with  La 
Gabrielle.  Its  spices  are  of  the  choicest  kind ;  its 
soil  particularly  favourable  to  them;  its  arrange- 
ments beautiful;  and  its  directeur,  Monsieur 
Martin,  a  botanist  of  first-rate  abilities.  This 
indefatigable  naturalist  ranged  through  the  East, 
under  a  royal  commission,  in  quest  of  botanical 
knowledge;    and  during  his  stay  in  the  western 


126    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

regions  lias  sent  over  to  Europe  from  twenty  to 
twenty-five  thousand  specimens,  in  botany  and 
zoology.  La  Gabrielle  is  on  a  far-extending  range 
of  woody  hills.  Figure  to  yourself  a  hill  in  the 
shape  of  a  bowl  reversed,  with  the  buildings  on 
the  top  of  it,  and  you  will  have  an  idea  of  the  ap- 
pearance of  La  Gabrielle.  You  approach  the 
house  through  a  noble  avenue,  five  hundred  toises 
long,  of  the  choicest  tropical  fruit-trees,  planted 
with  the  greatest  care  and  judgment ;  and  should 
you  chance  to  stray  through  it,  after  sunset,  when 
the  clove-trees  are  in  blossom,  you  would  fancy 
yourself  in  the  Idalian  groves,  or  near  the  banks 
of  the  Nile,  where  they  were  burning  the  finest  in- 
cense as  the  Queen  of  Egypt  passed. 

On  La  Gabrielle  there  are  twenty- two  thousand 
clove-trees  in  full  bearing.  They  are  planted 
thirty  feet  asunder.  Their  lower  branches  touch 
the  ground.  In  general  the  trees  are  topped  at 
five- and- twenty  feet  high;  though  you  will  see 
some  here  towering  up  above  sixty.  The  black 
pepper,  the  cinnamon,  and  nutmeg  are  also  in 
great  abundance  here,  and  very  productive. 

While  the  stranger  views  the  spicy  groves  of 
La  Gabrielle,  and  tastes  the  most  delicious  fruits 
which  have  been  originally  imported  hither  from 
all  parts  of  the  tropical  world,  he  will  thank  the 
government  which  has  supported,  and  admire  the 
talents  of  the  gentleman  who  has  raised  to  its 
present  grandeur,  this  noble  collection  of  useful 
fruits.  There  is  a  large  nursery  attached  to  La 
Gabrielle,  where  plants  of  all  the  different  species 
are  raised  and  distributed  gratis  to  those  colon- 
ists who  wish  to  cultivate  them. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    127 

Not  far  from  the  banks  of  the  river  Oyapoc,  to 
windward  of  Cayenne,  is  a  mountain  which  con- 
tains an  immense  cavern.  Here  the  Cock  of  the 
Rock  is  plentiful.  He  is  about  the  size  of  a  fan- 
tail  pigeon,  his  colour  a  bright  orange,  and  his 
wings  and  tail  appear  as  though  fringed;  his 
head  is  ornamented  with  a  superb  double-feathery 
crest,  edged  with  purple.  He  passes  the  day  amid 
gloomy  damps  and  silence,  and  only  issues  out 
for  food  a  short  time  at  sunrise  and  sunset.  He 
is  of  the  gallinaceous  tribe.  The  South- American 
Spaniards  call  him  "Gallo  del  Rio  Negro,"  (Cock 
of  the  Black  River,)  and  suppose  that  he  is  only 
to  be  met  with  in  the  vicinity  of  that  far-inland 
stream ;  but  he  is  common  in  the  interior  of  Deme- 
rara,  amongst  the  huge  rocks  in  the  forests  of 
Macoushia ;  and  he  has  been  shot  south  of  the  line, 
in  the  captainship  of  Para. 

The  bird  called  by  Buffon  Grand  Gobe-mouche 
has  never  been  found  in  Demerara,  although  very 
common  in  Cayenne  He  is  not  quite  so  large  as 
the  jackdaw,  and  is  entirely  black,  except  a  large 
spot  under  the  throat,  which  is  a  glossy  purple. 

You  may  easily  sail  from  Cayenne  to  the  river 
Surinam  in  two  days.  Its  capital,  Paramaribo, 
is  handsome,  rich  and  populous:  hitherto  it  has 
been  considered  by  far  the  finest  town  in  Guiana ; 
but  probably  the  time  is  not  far  off  when  the  capi- 
tal of  Demerara  may  claim  the  prize  of  superior- 
ity. You  may  enter  a  creek  above  Paramaribo, 
and  travel  through  the  interior  of  Surinam,  till 
you  come  to  the  Nicari,  which  is  close  to  the  large 
river  Coryntin.  When  you  have  passed  this  river. 


128     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

there  is  a  good  public  road  to  New  Amsterdam, 
the  capital  of  Berbice. 

On  viewing  New  Amsterdam,  it  will  immedi- 
ately strike  you  that  something  or  other  has  in- 
tervened to  prevent  its  arriving  at  that  state  of 
wealth  and  consequence  for  which  its  original 
plan  shows  it  was  once  intended.  What  has 
caused  this  stop  in  its  progress  to  the  rank  of  a 
fine  and  populous  city  remains  for  those  to  find 
out  who  are  interested  in  it;  certain  it  is,  that 
New  Amsterdam  has  been  languid  for  some  years, 
and  now  the  tide  of  commerce  seems  ebbing  fast 
from  the  shores  of  Berbice. 

Gay  and  blooming  is  the  sister  colony  of  Deme- 
rara.  Perhaps,  kind  reader,  thou  hast  not  forgot 
that  it  was  from  Stabroek,  the  capital  of  Deme- 
rara,  that  the  adventurer  set  out,  some  years  ago, 
to  reach  the  Portuguese  frontier  fort,  and  collect 
the  wourali-poison.  It  was  not  intended,  when 
this  second  sally  was  planned  in  England,  to  have 
visited  Stabroek  again  by  the  route  here  de- 
scribed. The  plan  was  to  have  ascended  the  Ama- 
zons from  Para  and  got  into  the  Eio  Negro,  and 
from  thence  to  have  returned  towards  the  source 
of  the  Essequibo,  in  order  to  examine  the  crystal 
mountains,  and  look  once  more  for  Lake  Parima, 
or  the  White  Sea;  but  on  arriving  at  Cayenne, 
the  current  was  running  with  such  amazing  rapid- 
ity to  leeward,  that  a  Portuguese  sloop,  which  had 
been  beating  up  towards  Para  for  four  weeks, 
was  then  only  half  way.  Finding,  therefore,  that 
a  beat  to  the  Amazons  would  be  long,  tedious,  and 
even  uncertain,  and  aware  that  the  season  for 
procuring  birds  in  fine  plumage  had  already  set 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     129 

in,  I  left  Cayenne  in  an  American  ship  for  Para- 
maribo, went  through  the  interior  to  the  Coryntin, 
stopped  a  few  days  in  New  Amsterdam,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Demerara.  If,  gentle  reader,  thy  pa- 
tience be  not  already  worn  out,  and  thy  eyes  half 
closed  in  slumber,  by  perusing  the  dull  adventures 
of  this  second  sally,  perhaps  thou  wilt  pardon  a 
line  or  two  on  Demerara ;  and  then  we  will  retire 
to  its  forests,  to  collect  and  examine  the  economy 
of  its  most  rare  and  beautiful  birds,  and  give  the 
world  a  new  mode  of  preserving  them. 

Stabroek,  the  capital  of  Demerara,  has  been 
rapidly  increasing  for  some  years  back;  and  if 
prosperity  go  hand  in  hand  with  the  present  en- 
terprising spirit,  Stabroek,  ere  long,  will  be  of 
the  first  colonial  consideration.  It  stands  on  the 
eastern  bank  at  the  mouth  of  the  Demerara,  and 
enjoys  all  the  advantages  of  the  refreshing  sea- 
breeze  ;  the  streets  are  spacious,  well  bricked  and 
elevated,  the  trenches  clean,  the  bridges  excellent, 
and  the  houses  handsome.  Almost  every  com- 
modity and  luxury  of  London  may  be  bought  in 
the  shops  at  Stabroek:  its  market  wants  better 
regulations.  The  hotels  are  commodious,  clean, 
and  well  attended.  Demerara  boasts  as  fine  and 
well-disciplined  militia  as  any  colony  in  the  west- 
ern world. 

The  court  of  justice,  where,  in  times  of  old,  the 
bandage  was  easily  removed  from  the  eyes  of  the 
goddess,  and  her  scales  thrown  out  of  equilibrium, 
now  rises  in  dignity  under  the  firmness,  talents, 
and  urbanity  of  Mr.  President  Rough. 

The  plantations  have  an  appearance  of  high 
cultivation;    a  tolerable  idea  may  be  formed  of 

9 


130     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

their  value  when  you  know  that  last  year  Deme- 
rara  numbered  seventy-two  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  ninety-nine  slaves.  They  made  about 
forty-four  million  pounds  of  sugar,  near  two  mil- 
lion gallons  of  rum,  above  eleven  million  pounds 
of  coffee,  and  three  million  eight  hundred  and 
nineteen  thousand  five  hundred  and  twelve  pounds 
of  cotton;  the  receipt  into  the  public  chest  was 
five  himdred  and  fifty-three  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  fifty-six  guilders;  the  public  ex- 
penditure, four  hundred  and  fifty-one  thousand 
six  hundred  and  three  guilders. 

Slavery  can  never  be  defended ;  he  whose  heart 
is  not  of  iron  can  never  wish  to  be  able  to  defend 
it:  while  he  heaves  a  sigh  for  the  poor  negro  in 
captivity,  he  wishes  from  his  soul  that  the  traffic 
had  been  stifled  in  its  birth;  but,  unfortunately, 
the  governments  of  Europe  nourished  it,  and 
now  they  are  exerting  themselves  to  do  away  the 
evil,  and  ensure  liberty  to  the  sons  of  Africa,  the 
situation  of  the  plantation  slaves  is  depicted  as 
truly  deplorable,  and  their  condition  wretched.  It 
is  not  so.  A  Briton's  heart,  proverbially  kind 
and  generous,  is  not  changed  by  climate,  or  its 
streams  of  compassion  dried  up  by  the  scorching 
heat  of  a  Demerara  sun;  he  cheers  his  negroes 
in  labour,  comforts  them  in  sickness,  is  kind  to 
them  in  old  age,  and  never  forgets  that  they  are 
his  fellow-creatures. 

Instances  of  cruelty  and  depravity  certainly 
occur  here  as  well  as  all  the  world  over ;  but  the 
edicts  of  the  colonial  government  are  well  calcu- 
lated to  prevent  them;  and  the  British  planter, 
except  here  and  there  one,  feels  for  the  wrongs 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     131 

done  to  a  poor  ill-treated  slave,  and  shows  that 
his  heart  grieves  for  him  by  causing  immediate 
redress,  and  preventing  a  repetition. 

Long  may  ye  flourish,  peaceful  and  liberal  in- 
habitants of  Demerara !  Your  doors  are  ever  open 
to  harbour  the  harbourless;  your  purses  never 
shut  to  the  wants  of  the  distressed :  many  a  ruined 
fugitive  from  the  Oroonoque  will  bless  your  kind- 
ness to  him  in  the  hour  of  need,  when  flying  from 
the  woes  of  civil  discord,  without  food  or  raiment, 
he  begged  for  shelter  underneath  your  roof.  The 
poor  sufferer  in  Trinidad,  who  lost  his  all  in  the 
devouring  flames,  will  remember  your  charity  to 
his  latest  moments.  The  traveller,  as  he  leaves 
your  port,  casts  a  longing,  lingering  look  behind ; 
your  attentions,  your  hospitality,  your  pleasantry 
and  mirth,  are  uppermost  in  his  thoughts:  your 
prosperity  is  close  to  his  heart.  Let  us  now,  gen- 
tle reader,  retire  from  the  busy  scenes  of  man,  and 
journey  on  towards  the  wilds  in  quest  of  the 
feathered  tribe. 

Leave  behind  you  your  high-seasoned  dishes, 
your  wines  and  your  delicacies;  carry  nothing 
but  what  is  necessary  for  your  own  comfort  and 
the  object  in  view,  and  depend  upon  the  skill  of 
the  Indian,  or  your  own,  for  fish  and  game.  A 
sheet,  about  twelve  feet  long,  ten  wide,  painted, 
and  with  loop-holes  on  each  side,  will  be  of  great 
service;  in  a  few  minutes  you  can  suspend  it 
betwixt  two  trees  in  the  shape  of  a  roof.  Under 
this,  in  your  hammock,  you  may  defy  the  pelting 
shower,  and  sleep  heedless  of  the  dews  of  night. 
A  hat,  a  shirt,  and  a  light  pair  of  trousers,  will  be 
all  the  raiment  you  require.     Custom  will  soon 


132     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

teach  you  to  tread  lightly  and  barefoot  on  the 
little  inequalities  of  the  ground,  and  show  you 
how  to  pass  on,  unwounded,  amid  the  mantling 
briers. 

Snakes  in  these  wilds  are  certainly  an  annoy- 
ance, though  perhaps  more  in  imagination  than 
reality;  for  you  must  recollect  that  the  serpent 
is  never  the  first  to  offend;  his  poisonous  fang 
was  not  given  him  for  conquest :  he  never  inflicts 
a  wound  with  it  but  to  defend  existence.  Provided 
you  walk  cautiously,  and  do  not  absolutely  touch 
him,  you  may  pass  in  safety  close  by  him.  As  he 
is  often  coiled  up  on  the  ground,  and  amongst  the 
branches  of  the  trees  above  you,  a  degree  of  cir- 
cumspection is  necessary,  lest  you  unwarily  dis- 
turb him. 

Tigers  are  too  few,  and  too  apt  to  fly  before  the 
noble  face  of  man,  to  require  a  moment  of  your 
attention. 

The  bite  of  the  most  noxious  of  the  insects,  at 
the  very  worst,  only  causes  a  transient  fever, 
with  a  degree  of  pain  more  or  less. 

Birds  in  general,  with  few  exceptions,  are  not 
common  in  the  very  remote  parts  of  the  forest. 
The  sides  of  rivers,  lakes,  and  creeks,  the  borders 
of  savannas,  the  old  abandoned  habitations  of 
Indians  and  woodcutters,  seem  to  be  their  favour- 
ite haunts. 

Though  least  in  size,  the  glittering  mantle  of 
the  Humming-bird  entitles  it  to  the  first  place  in 
the  list  of  the  birds  of  the  new  world.  It  may 
truly  be  called  the  Bird  of  Paradise ;  and  had  it 
existed  in  the  old  world,  it  would  have  claimed  the 
title  instead  of  the  bird  which  has  now  the  honour 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     133 

to  bear  it : — see  it  darting  tlirongli  the  air  almost 
as  quick  as  thought ! — now  it  is  within  a  yard  of 
your  face! — in  an  instant  gone! — now  it  flutters 
from  flower  to  flower  to  sip  the  silver  dew — it  is 
now  a  ruby — now  a  topaz — now  an  emerald — now 
all  burnished  gold !  It  would  be  arrogant  to  pre- 
tend to  describe  this  winged  gem  of  nature  after 
Buff  on 's  elegant  description  of  it. 

Cayenne  and  Demerara  produce  the  same  hum- 
ming-birds. Perhaps  you  would  wish  to  know 
something  of  their  haunts.  Chiefly  in  the  months 
of  July  and  August  the  tree  called  Bois  Immortel, 
very  common  in  Demerara,  bears  abundance  of 
red  blossom,  which  stays  on  the  tree  some  weeks; 
then  it  is  that  most  of  the  different  species  of 
humming-birds  are  very  plentiful.  The  wild  red 
sage  is  also  their  favourite  shrub,  and  they  buzz 
like  bees  round  the  blossoms  of  the  wallaba-tree. 
Indeed,  there  is  scarce  a  flower  in  the  interior,  or 
on  the  sea-coast,  but  what  receives  frequent  visits 
from  one  or  other  of  the  species. 

On  entering  the  forests,  on  the  rising  land  in 
the  interior,  the  blue  and  green,  the  smallest 
brown,  no  bigger  than  the  bumblebee,  with  two 
long  feathers  in  the  tail,  and  the  little  forked-tail 
purple-throated  humming-birds,  glitter  before 
you  in  ever-changing  attitudes.  One  species  alone 
never  shows  his  beauty  to  the  sun;  and  were  it 
not  for  his  lovely  shining  colours,  you  might  al- 
most be  tempted  to  class  him  with  the  goatsuckers 
on  account  of  his  habits.  He  is  the  largest  of  all 
the  humming-birds,  and  is  all  red  and  changing 
gold  green,  except  the  head,  which  is  black.  He 
has  two  long  feathers  in  the  tail,  which  cross  each 


134    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

other,  and  these  have  gained  him  the  name  of 
Karabimiti,  or  Ara  humming-bird,  from  the  In- 
dians. You  never  find  him  on  the  sea-coast,  or 
where  the  river  is  salt,  or  in  the  heart  of  the  for- 
est, unless  fresh  water  be  there.  He  keeps  close 
by  the  side  of  woody  fresh-water  rivers  and  dark 
and  lonely  creeks.  He  leaves  his  retreat  before 
sunrise  to  feed  on  the  insects  over  the  water; 
he  returns  to  it  as  soon  as  the  sun's  rays  cause  a 
glare  of  light,  is  sedentary  all  day  long,  and  comes 
out  again  for  a  short  time  after  sunset.  He  builds 
his  nest  on  a  twig  over  the  water  in  the  unfre- 
quented creeks;   it  looks  like  tanned  cow-leather. 

As  you  advance  towards  the  mountains  of  Dem- 
erara,  other  species  of  humming-birds  present 
themselves  before  you.  It  seems  to  be  an  errone- 
ous opinion  that  the  humming-bird  lives  entirely 
on  honey-dew.  Almost  every  flower  of  the  trop- 
ical climate  contains  insects  of  one  kind  or  other ; 
now,  the  humming-bird  is  most  busy  about  the 
flowers  an  hour  or  two  after  sunrise  and  after  a 
shower  of  rain,  and  it  is  just  at  this  time  that  the 
insects  come  out  to  the  edge  of  the  flower  in  order 
that  the  sun's  rays  may  dry  the  nocturnal  dew  and 
rain  which  they  have  received.  On  opening  the 
stomach  of  the  humming-bird,  dead  insects  are 
almost  always  found  there. 

Next  to  the  humming-birds,  the  Cotingas  dis- 
play the  gayest  plumage.  They  are  of  the  order 
of  Passeres,  and  you  number  five  species  betwixt 
the  sea-coast  and  the  rock  Saba.  Perhaps  the 
Scarlet  Cotinga  is  the  richest  of  the  five,  and  is 
one  of  those  birds  which  are  found  in  the  deepest 
recesses  of  the  forest.    His  crown  is  flaming  red ; 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     135 

to  this  abruptly  succeeds  a  dark  shining  brown, 
reaching  half  way  down  the  back :  the  remainder 
of  the  back,  the  rump,  and  tail,  the  extremity  of 
which  is  edged  with  black,  are  a  lively  red;  the 
belly  is  a  somewhat  lighter  red;  the  breast  red- 
dish black;  the  wings  brown.  He  has  no  song, 
is  solitary,  and  utters  a  monotonous  whistle  which 
sounds  like  ''quet."  He  is  fond  of  the  seeds  of 
the  hitia-tree,  and  those  of  the  siloabali  and  bas- 
tard-siloabali  trees,  which  ripen  in  December,  and 
continue  on  the  trees  for  above  two  months.  He 
is  found  throughout  the  year  in  Demerara;  still 
nothing  is  known  of  his  incubation.  The  Indians 
all  agree  in  telling  you  that  they  have  never  seen 
his  nest. 

The  Purple-breasted  Cotinga  has  the  throat 
and  breast  of  a  deep  purple,  the  wmgs  and  tail 
black,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  body  a  most  lovely 
shining  blue. 

The  Purple-throated  Cotinga  has  black  wings 
and  tail,  and  every  other  part  a  light  and  glossy 
blue,  save  the  throat,  which  is  purple. 

The  Pompadour  Cotinga  is  entirely  purple,  ex- 
cept his  wings,  which  are  white,  their  four  first 
feathers  tipped  with  brown.  The  great  coverts 
of  the  wings  are  stiff,  narrow,  and  pointed,  being 
shaped  quite  different  from  those  of  any  other 
bird.  Wlien  you  are  betwixt  this  bird  and  the  sun 
in  his  flight,  he  appears  uncommonly  brilliant. 
He  makes  a  hoarse  noise,  which  sounds  like  "  Wal- 
lababa."     Hence  his  name  amongst  the  Indians. 

None  of  these  three  eotingas  have  a  song.  They 
feed  on  the  hitia,  siloabali,  and  bastard-siloabali 
seeds,  the  wild  guava,  the  fig,  and  other  fruit 


136     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AIMERICA 

trees  of  the  forest.  They  are  easily  shot  in  these 
trees  during  the  months  of  December,  January, 
and  part  of  February.  The  greater  part  of  them 
disappear  after  this,  and  probably  retire  far  away 
to  breed.  Their  nests  have  never  been  found  in 
Demerara. 

The  fifth  species  is  the  celebrated  Campanero 
of  the  Spaniards,  called  Dara  by  the  Indians,  and 
Bell-bird  by  the  English.  He  is  about  the  size  of 
the  jay.  His  plumage  is  white  as  snow.  On  his 
forehead  rises  a  spiral  tube  nearly  three  inches 
long.  It  is  jet  black,  dotted  all  over  with  small 
white  feathers.  It  has  a  communication  with  the 
palate,  and  when  filled  with  air  looks  like  a  spire; 
when  empty  it  becomes  pendulous.  His  note  is 
loud  and  clear,  like  the  sound  of  a  bell,  and  may 
be  heard  at  the  distance  of  three  miles.  In  the 
midst  of  these  extensive  wilds,  generally  on  the 
dried  top  of  an  ancient  mora,  almost  out  of  gun 
reach,  you  will  see  the  campanero.  No  sound  or 
song  from  any  of  the  winged  inhabitants  of  the 
forest,  not  even  the  clearly  pronounced  ''Whip- 
poor- Will,"  from  the  goatsucker,  cause  such  as- 
tonishment as  the  toll  of  the  campanero. 

With  many  of  the  feathered  race,  he  pays  the 
common  tribute  of  a  morning  and  an  evening 
song;  and  even  when  the  meridian  sun  has  shut 
in  silence  the  mouths  of  almost  the  whole  of  ani- 
mated nature,  the  campanero  still  cheers  the  for- 
est. You  hear  his  toll,  and  then  a  pause  for  a 
minute,  then  another  toll,  and  then  a  pause  again, 
and  then  a  toll,  and  again  a  pause.  Then  he  is 
silent  for  six  or  eight  minutes,  and  then  another 
toll,  and  so  on.    Acteon  would  stop  in  mid  chace, 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     137 

Maria  would  defer  her  evening  song,  and  Orpheus 
himself  would  drop  his  lute  to  listen  to  him,  so 
sweet,  so  novel,  and  romantic  is  the  toll  of  the 
pretty  snow-white  campanero.  He  is  never  seen 
to  feed  with  the  other  cotingas,  nor  is  it  known  in 
what  part  of  Guiana  he  makes  his  nest. 

While  the  cotingas  attract  your  attention  by 
their  superior  plumage,  the  singular  form  of  the 
Toucan  makes  a  lasting  impression  on  your  mem- 
ory. There  are  three  species  of  toucans  in  Deme- 
rara,  and  three  diminutives,  which  may  be  called 
Toucanets.  The  largest  of  the  first  species  fre- 
quents the  mangrove-trees  on  the  sea-coast.  He 
is  never  seen  in  the  interior  till  you  reach  Ma- 
coushia,  where  he  is  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  river  Tacatou.  The  other  two  species  are 
very  common.  The)'  feed  entirely  on  the  fruits  of 
the  forest,  and  though  of  the  pie  kind,  never  kill 
the  young  of  other  birds  or  touch  carrion.  The 
larger  is  called  Bouradi  by  the  Indians,  (which 
means  Nose,)  the  other,  Scirou,  They  seem  par- 
tial to  each  other's  company,  and  often  resort  to 
the  same  feeding  tree,  and  retire  together  to  the 
same  shady  noon-day  retreat.  They  are  very 
noisy  in  rainy  weather  at  all  hours  of  the  day,  and 
in  fair  weather,  at  morn  and  eve.  The  sound 
which  the  bouradi  makes  is  like  the  clear  yelping 
of  a  puppy  dog,  and  you  fancy  he  says  ' '  Pia-po-o- 
co,"  and  thus  the  South  American  Spaniards  call 
him  Piapoco. 

All  the  toucanets  feed  on  the  same  trees  on 
which  the  toucan  feeds,  and  every  species  of  this 
family  of  enormous  bill,  lays  it  eggs  in  the  hollow 
trees.    They  are  social,  but  not  gregarious.    You 


138    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

may  sometimes  see  eight  or  ten  in  company,  and 
from  this  you  would  suppose  they  are  gregarious ; 
but,  upon  a  closer  examination,  you  will  find  it  has 
only  been  a  dinner  party,  which  breaks  up  and 
disperses  towards  roosting-time. 

You  will  be  at  a  loss  to  conjecture  for  what  ends 
nature  has  overloaded  the  head  of  this  bird  with 
such  an  enormous  bill.  It  cannot  be  for  the  offen- 
sive, as  it  has  no  need  to  wage  war  with  any  of 
the  tribes  of  animated  nature;  for  its  food  is 
fruit  and  seeds,  and  those  are  in  superabundance 
throughout  the  whole  year  in  the  regions  where 
the  toucan  is  found.  It  can  hardly  be  for  the  de- 
fensive, as  the  toucan  is  preyed  upon  by  no  bird 
in  South  America,  and  were  it  obliged  to  be  at 
war,  the  texture  of  the  bill  is  ill  adapted  to  give 
or  receive  blows,  as  you  will  see  in  dissecting  it. 
It  cannot  be  for  any  particular  protection  to  the 
tongue,  as  the  tongue  is  a  perfect  feather. 

The  flight  of  the  toucan  is  by  jerks ;  in  the  ac- 
tion of  flying  it  seems  incommoded  by  this  huge 
disproportioned  feature,  and  the  head  seems  as 
if  bowed  down  to  the  earth  by  it  against  its  will ; 
if  the  extraordinary  form  and  size  of  the  bill 
expose  the  toucan  to  ridicule,  its  colours  make  it 
amends.  Were  a  specimen  of  each  species  of  the 
toucan  presented  to  you,  you  would  pronounce 
the  bill  of  the  bouradi  the  most  rich  and  beautiful ; 
on  the  ridge  of  the  upper  mandible  a  broad  stripe 
of  most  lovely  yellow  extends  from  the  head  to 
the  point;  a  stripe  of  the  same  breadth,  though 
somewhat  deeper  yellow,  falls  from  it  at  right 
angles  next  the  head  down  to  the  edge  of  the  man- 
dible;  then  follows  a  black  stripe,  half  as  broad, 


The  Fliylit  of  the  Toucan 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     139 

falling  at  right  angles  from  the  ridge,  and  running 
narrower  along,  the  edge  to  within  half  an  inch 
of  the  point.  The  rest  of  the  mandible  is  a  deep 
bright  red.  The  lower  mandible  has  no  yellow: 
its  black  and  red  are  distributed  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  on  the  upper  one,  with  this  difference,  that 
there  is  black  about  an  inch  from  the  point.  The 
stripe  corresponding  to  the  deep  yellow  stripe  on 
the  upper  mandible  is  sky  blue.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark  that  all  these  brilliant  colours  of  the  bill 
are  to  be  found  in  the  plumage  of  the  body,  and 
the  bare  skin  round  the  eye. 

All  these  colours,  except  the  blue,  are  inherent 
in  the  horn;  that  part  which  appears  blue  is  in 
realitj^  transparent  white,  and  receives  its  colour 
from  a  thin  piece  of  blue  skin  inside.  This  superb 
bill  fades  in  death,  and  in  three  or  four  days'  time 
has  quite  lost  its  original  colours. 

Till  within  these  few  years,  no  idea  of  the  true 
colours  of  the  bill  could  be  formed  from  the 
stuffed  toucans  brought  to  Europe.  About  eight 
years  ago,  while  eating  a  boiled  toucan,  the 
thought  struck  me  that  the  colours  in  the  bill  of 
a  preserved  specimen  might  be  kept  as  bright  as 
those  in  life.  A  series  of  experiments  proved  this 
beyond  a  doubt.  If  you  take  your  penknife  and 
cut  away  the  roof  of  the  upper  mandible,  you  will 
find  that  the  space  betwixt  it  and  the  outer  shell 
contains  a  large  collection  of  veins,  and  small  os- 
seous fibres  running  in  all  directions  through 
the  whole  extent  of  the  bill.  Clear  away  all 
these  with  your  knife,  and  you  will  come  to  a 
substance  more  firm  than  skin,  but  of  not  so 
strong   a   texture   as   the   horn  itself;    cut   this 


140    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

away  also,  and  behind  it  is  discovered  a  thin 
and  tender  membrane;  yellow,  where  it  has 
touched  the  yellow  part  of  the  horn;  blue, 
where  it  has  touched  the  red  part,  and  black 
towards  the  edge  and  point;  when  dried,  this 
thin  and  tender  membrane  becomes  nearly  black; 
as  soon  as  it  is  cut  away,  nothing  remains  but  the 
outer  horn,  red  and  yellow,  and  now  become  trans- 
parent; the  under  mandible  must  undergo  the 
same  operation.  Great  care  must  be  taken,  and 
the  knife  used  very  cautiously  when  you  are  cut- 
ting through  the  different  parts  close  to  where  the 
bill  joins  on  to  the  head;  if  you  cut  away  too 
much,  the  bill  drops  off;  if  you  press  too  hard, 
the  knife  comes  through  the  horn ;  if  you  leave  too 
great  a  portion  of  the  membrane,  it  appears 
through  the  horn,  and  by  becoming  black  when 
dried,  makes  the  horn  appear  black  also,  and  has 
a  bad  eifect;  judgment,  caution,  skill,  and  prac- 
tice, will  insure  success. 

You  have  now  cleared  the  bill  of  all  those  bodies 
which  are  the  cause  of  its  apparent  fading;  for, 
as  has  been  said  before,  these  bodies  dry  in  death, 
and  become  quite  discoloured,  and  appear  so 
through  the  horn;  and  reviewing  the  bill  in  this 
state,  you  conclude  that  its  former  bright  colours 
are  lost. 

Something  still  remains  to  be  done.  You  have 
rendered  the  bill  transparent  by  the  operation, 
and  that  transparency  must  be  done  away  to  make 
it  appear  perfectly  natural.  Pound  some  clean 
chalk,  and  give  it  enough  water  till  it  be  of  the 
consistency  of  tar;  add  a  proportion  of  gum- 
arabic  to  make  it  adhesive;   then  take  a  camel- 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     141 

hair  brush,  and  give  the  inside  of  both  mandibles 
a  coat ;  apply  a  second  when  the  first  is  dry,  then 
another,  and  a  fourth  to  finish  all.  The  gum- 
arabic  will  prevent  the  chalk  from  cracking  and 
falling  off.  If  you  remember,  there  is  a  little  space 
of  transparent  white  in  the  lower  mandible,  which 
originally  appeared  blue,  but  which  became  trans- 
parent white  as  soon  as  the  thin  piece  of  blue  skin 
was  cut  away;  this  must  be  painted  blue  inside. 
When  all  this  is  completed,  the  bill  will  please 
you ;  it  will  appear  in  its  original  colours.  Prob- 
ably your  own  abilities  will  suggest  a  cleverer 
mode  of  operating  than  the  one  here  described. 
A  small  gouge  would  assist  the  penknife,  and  ren- 
der the  operation  less  difficult. 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Houtou  ranks  high  in  beauty  amongst  the 
birds  of  Demerara — his  whole  body  is  green,  with 
a  bluish  cast  in  the  wings  and  tail;  his  crown, 
which  he  erects  at  pleasure,  consists  of  black  in 
the  centre,  surrounded  with  lovely  blue  of  two  dif- 
ferent shades:  he  has  a  triangular  black  spot, 
edged  with  blue,  behind  the  eye  extending  to  the 
ear ;  and  on  his  breast  a  sable  tuft,  consisting  of 
nine  feathers  edged  also  with  blue.  This  bird 
seems  to  suppose  that  its  beauty  can  be  increased 
by  trimming  the  tail,  which  undergoes  the  same 
operation  as  our  hair  in  a  barber's  shop,  only 
with  this  difference,  that  it  uses  its  own  beak, 
which  is  serrated,  in  lieu  of  a  pair  of  scissors ;  as 
soon  as  his  tail  is  full  grown,  he  begins  about  an 
inch  from  the  extremity  of  the  two  longest 
feathers  in  it,  and  cuts  away  the  web  on  both  sides 
of  the  shaft,  making  a  gap  about  an  inch  long: 
both  male  and  female  Adonise  their  tails  in  this 
manner,  which  gives  them  a  remarkable  appear- 
ance amongst  all  other  birds.  While  we  consider 
the  tail  of  the  houtou  blemished  and  defective, 
were  he  to  come  amongst  us,  he  would  probably 
consider  our  heads,  cropped  and  bald,  in  no  better 
light.  He  who  wishes  to  observe  this  handsome 
bird  in  his  native  haunts,  must  be  in  the  forest  at 
the  morning's  dawn.  The  houtou  shuns  the  so- 
ciety of  man :  the  plantations  and  cultivated  parts 

142 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     143 

are  too  much  disturbed  to  engage  it  to  settle  there ; 
the  thick  and  gloomy  forests  are  the  places  pre- 
ferred by  the  solitary  lioutou.  In  those  far- 
extending  mlds,  about  daybreak,  you  hear  him 
articulate,  in  a  distinct  and  mournful  tone,  ''Hou- 
tou,  houtou."  Move  cautious  on  to  where  the 
sound  proceeds  from,  and  you  will  see  him  sitting 
in  the  underwood,  about  a  couple  of  yards  from 
the  ground,  his  tail  moving  up  and  down  every 
time  he  articulates  "houtou."  He  lives  on  in- 
sects and  the  berries  amongst  the  underwood,  and 
very  rarely  is  seen  in  the  lofty  trees,  except  the 
bastard- siloabali  tree,  the  fruit  of  which  is  grate- 
ful to  him.  He  makes  no  nest,  but  rears  his  young 
in  a  hole  in  the  sand,  generally  on  the  side  of  a 
hill. 

While  in  quest  of  the  houtou,  you  will  now  and 
then  fall  in  with  the  Jay  of  Guiana,  called  by  the 
Indians  Ibibirou.  Its  forehead  is  black,  the  rest 
of  the  head  white;  the  throat  and  breast  like  the 
English  magpie:  about  an  inch  of  the  extremity 
of  the  tail  is  white,  the  other  part  of  it,  together 
with  the  back  of  the  wings,  a  greyish  changing 
purple ;  the  belly  is  white :  there  are  generally  six 
or  eight  of  them  in  company;  they  are  shy  and 
garrulous,  and  tarry  a  very  short  time  in  one 
place ;  they  are  never  seen  in  the  cultivated  parts. 

Through  the  whole  extent  of  the  forest,  chiefly 
from  sunrise  till  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  you 
hear  a  sound  of  ''V7ow,  wow,  wow,  wow."  This 
is  the  bird  called  Boclora  by  the  Indians.  It  is 
smaller  than  the  common  pigeon,  and  seems,  in 
some  measure,  to  partake  of  its  nature :  its  head 
and  breast  are  blue ;  the  back  and  rump  somewhat 


144     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AjMERICA 

resemble  the  colour  on  the  peacock's  neck;  its 
belly  is  a  bright  yellow;  the  legs  are  so  very  short 
that  it  always  appears  as  if  sitting  on  the  branch ; 
it  is  as  ill-adapted  for  walking  as  the  swallow; 
its  neck,  for  above  an  inch  all  round,  is  quite  bare 
of  feathers,  but  this  deficiency  is  not  seen,  for  it 
always  sits  with  its  head  drawn  in  upon  its  shoul- 
ders :  it  sometimes  feeds  with  the  cotingas  on  the 
guava  and  hitia  trees;  but  its  chief  nutriment 
seems  to  be  insects,  and,  like  most  birds  which 
follow  this  prey,  its  chaps  are  well  armed  with 
bristles:  it  is  found  in  Demerara  at  all  times  of 
the  year,  and  makes  a  nest  resembling  that  of  the 
stock-dove.  This  bird  never  takes  long  flights, 
and  when  it  crosses  a  river  or  creek  it  goes  by 
long  jerks. 

The  boclora  is  very  unsuspicious,  appearing 
quite  heedless  of  danger;  the  report  of  a  gun 
within  twenty  yards  will  not  cause  it  to  leave  the 
branch  on  which  it  is  sitting,  and  you  may  often 
approach  it  so  near  as  almost  to  touch  it  with  the 
end  of  your  bow.  Perhaps  there  is  no  bird  known 
whose  feathers  are  so  slightly  fixed  to  the  skin  as 
those  of  the  boclora.  After  shooting  it,  if  it  touch 
a  branch  in  its  descent,  or  if  it  drop  on  hard 
ground,  whole  heaps  of  feathers  fall  off;  on  this 
account  it  is  extremely  hard  to  procure  a  speci- 
men for  preservation.  As  soon  as  the  skin  is  dry 
in  the  preserved  specimen,  the  feathers  become  as 
well  fixed  as  those  in  any  other  bird. 

Another  species,  larger  than  the  boclora,  at- 
tracts much  of  your  notice  in  these  wilds;  it  is 
called  Cuia  by  the  Indians,  from  the  sound  of  its 
voice;  its  habits  are  the  same  as  those  of  the 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     145 

boclora,  but  its  colours  different ;  its  head,  breast, 
back,  and  rump,  are  a  shining,  changing  green; 
its  tail  not  quite  so  bright ;  a  black  bar  runs  across 
the  tail  towards  the  extremity,  and  the  outside 
feathers  are  partly  white,  as  in  the  boclora;  its 
belly  is  entirely  vermilion,  a  bar  of  white  separat- 
ing it  from  the  green  on  the  breast. 

There  are  diminutives  of  both  these  birds ;  they 
have  the  same  habits,  with  a  somewhat  different 
plumage,  and  about  half  the  size.  Arrayed  from 
head  to  tail  in  a  robe  of  richest  sable  hue,  the  bird 
called  Rice-bird  loves  spots  cultivated  by  the  hand 
of  man.  The  woodcutter's  house  on  the  hills  in 
the  interior,  and  the  planter's  habitation  on  the 
sea-coast,  equally  attract  this  songless  species  of 
the  order  of  pie,  provided  the  Indian  corn  be  ripe 
there.  He  is  nearly  of  the  jackdaw's  size,  and 
makes  his  nest  far  away  from  the  haunts  of  man; 
he  may  truly  be  called  a  blackbird:  independent 
of  his  plumage,  his  beak,  inside  and  out,  his  legs, 
his  toes,  and  claws  are  jet  black. 

Mankind,  by  clearing  the  ground,  and  sowing  a 
variety  of  seeds,  induces  many  kinds  of  birds  to 
leave  their  native  haunts  and  come  and  settle  near 
him;  their  little  depredations  on  his  seeds  and 
fruits  prove  that  it  is  the  property,  and  not  the 
proprietor,  which  has  the  attractions. 

One  bird,  however,  in  Demerara  is  not  actuated 
by  selfish  motives :  this  is  the  Cassique ;  in  size,  he 
is  larger  than  the  starling;  he  courts  the  society 
of  man,  but  disdains  to  live  by  his  labours.  When 
nature  calls  for  support,  he  repairs  to  the  neigh- 
bouring forest,  and  there  partakes  of  the  store  of 
fruits  and  seeds  which  she  has  produced  in  abun- 

10 


146     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

dance  for  her  aerial  tribes.  When  his  repast  is 
over,  he  returns  to  man,  and  pays  the  little  tribute 
which  he  owes  him  for  his  protection ;  he  takes  his 
station  on  a  tree  close  to  his  house ;  and  there,  for 
hours  together,  pours  forth  a  succession  of  imi- 
tative notes.  His  own  song  is  sweet,  but  very- 
short.  If  a  toucan  be  yelping  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, he  drops  it,  and  imitates  him.  Then  he  will 
amuse  his  protector  with  the  cries  of  the  ditferent 
species  of  the  woodpecker;  and  when  the  sheep 
bleat,  he  will  distinctly  answer  them.  Then  comes 
his  own  song  again;  and  if  a  puppy-dog,  or  a 
Guinea-fowl  interrupt  him,  he  takes  them  off  ad- 
mirably, and  by  his  different  gestures  during  the 
time,  j^ou  would  conclude  that  he  enjoj^s  the  sport. 

The  cassique  is  gregarious,  and  imitates  any 
sound  he  hears  with  such  exactness,  that  he  goes 
by  no  other  name  than  that  of  Mocking-bird 
amongst  the  colonists. 

At  breeding  time,  a  number  of  these  pretty  chor- 
isters resort  to  a  tree  near  the  planter's  house, 
and  from  its  outside  branches  weave  their  pen- 
dulous nests.  So  conscious  do  they  seem  that  they 
never  give  offence,  and  so  little  suspicious  are  they 
of  recei\ang  any  injury  from  man,  that  they  will 
choose  a  tree  within  forty  yards  of  his  house,  and 
occupy  the  branches  so  low  down,  that  he  may 
peep  into  the  nests.  A  tree  in  Waratilla  creek  af- 
fords a  proof  of  this. 

The  proportions  of  the  cassique  are  so  fine,  that 
he  may  be  said  to  be  a  model  of  s}inmetry  in  or- 
nitholog;s^  On  each  wing  he  has  a  bright  yellow 
spot,  and  his  rump,  belly,  and  half  the  tail,  are  of 
the  same  colour.    All  the  rest  of  the  body  is  black. 


ti^!?L.ei  UVlNai>ToN   e^OLU 


The  Cassique 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     147 

His  beak  is  the  colour  of  sulphur,  but  it  fades  in 
death,  and  requires  the  same  operation  as  the  bill 
of  the  toucan  to  make'  it  keep  its  colours.  Up  the 
rivers,  in  the  interior,  there  is  another  cassique, 
nearly  the  same  size,  and  of  the  same  habits, 
though  not  gifted  with  its  powers  of  imitation. 
Except  in  breeding  time  you  will  see  hundreds 
of  them  retiring  to  roost,  amongst  the  moca- 
moca-trees  and  low  shrubs  on  the  banks  of  the 
Demerara,  after  you  pass  the  first  island.  They 
are  not  common  on  the  sea-coast.  The  rump 
of  this  cassique  is  a  flaming  scarlet.  All  the 
rest  of  the  body  is  a  rich  glossy  black.  His 
bill  is  sulphur  colour.  You  may  often  see  num- 
bers of  this  species  weaving  their  pendu- 
lous nests  on  one  side  of  a  tree,  while  numbers  of 
the  other  species  are  busy  in  forming  theirs  on 
the  other  side  of  the  same  tree.  Though  such  near 
neighbours,  the  females  are  never  observed  to  kick 
up  a  row,  or  come  to  blows ! 

Another  species  of  cassique,  as  large  as  a  crow, 
is  very  common  in  the  plantations.  In  the  morn- 
ing, he  generally  repairs  to  a  large  tree,  and  there, 
with  his  tail  spread  over  his  back,  and  shaking 
his  lowered  wings,  he  produces  notes,  which 
though  they  cannot  be  said  to  amount  to  a  song, 
still  have  something  very  sweet  and  pleasing  in 
them.  He  makes  his  nest  in  the  same  farm  as  the 
other  cassiques.  It  is  above  four  feet  long;  and 
when  you  pass  under  the  tree,  which  often  con- 
tains fifty  or  sixty  of  them,  you  cannot  help  stop- 
ping to  admire  them  as  they  wave  to  and  fro,  the 
sport  of  every  storm  and  breeze.  The  rump  is 
chestnut ;  ten  feathers  of  the  tail  are  a  fine  yellow, 


148     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

the  remaining  two,  which  are  the  middle  ones,  are 
black,  and  an  inch  shorter  than  the  others.  His 
bill  is  sulphur  colour;  all  the  rest  of  the  body 
black,  with  here  and  there  shades  of  brown.  He 
has  five  or  six  long  narrow  black  feathers  on  the 
back  of  his  head,  which  he  erects  at  pleasure. 

There  is  one  more  species  of  cassique  in  Deme- 
rara,  which  always  prefers  the  forests  to  the  culti- 
vated parts.  Ilis  economy  is  the  same  as  that  of 
the  other  cassiques.  He  is  rather  smaller  than 
the  last  described  bird.  His  body  is  greenish,  and 
his  tail  and  rump  paler  than  those  of  the  former. 
Half  of  his  beak  is  red. 

You  would  not  be  long  in  the  forests  of  Deme- 
rara  without  noticing  the  Woodpeckers.  You  meet 
with  them  feeding  at  all  hours  of  the  day.  Well 
may  they  do  so.  Were  they  to  follow  the  exam- 
ple of  most  of  the  other  birds,  and  only  feed  in  the 
morning  and  evening,  they  would  be  often  on 
short  allowance,  for  they  sometimes  have  to  la- 
bour three  or  four  hours  at  the  tree  before  they 
get  to  their  food.  The  sound  which  the  largest 
kind  makes  in  hammering  against  the  barl^  of  the 
tree,  is  so  loud,  that  you  would  never  suppose  it 
to  proceed  from  the  efforts  of  a  bird.  You  would 
take  it  to  be  the  woodman,  with  his  axe,  trying  by 
a  sturdy  blow,  often  repeated,  whether  the  tree 
were  sound  or  not.  There  are  fourteen  species 
here ;  the  largest  the  size  of  a  magpie,  the  smallest 
no  bigger  than  the  wren.  They  are  all  beautiful ; 
and  the  greater  part  of  them  have  their  heads 
ornamented  with  a  fine  crest,  movable  at  pleasure. 

It  is  said,  if  you  once  give  a  dog  a  bad  name, 
whether  innocent  or  guilty,  he  never  loses  it.    It 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     149 

sticks  close  to  him  wherever  he  goes.  He  has 
many  a  kick  and  many  a  blow  to  bear  on  account 
of  it ;  and  there  is  nobody  to  stand  up  for  him. 
The  woodpecker  is  little  better  off.  The  pro- 
prietors of  woods,  in  Europe,  have  long  ac- 
cused him  of  injuring  their  timber,  by  bor- 
ing holes  in  it,  and  letting  in  the  water, 
which  soon  rots  it.  The  colonists  in  Ajnerica 
have  the  same  complaint  against  him.  Had  he 
the  power  of  speech,  which  Ovid's  birds  possessed 
in  days  of  yore,  he  could  soon  make  a  defence. 
''Mighty  lord  of  the  woods,"  he  would  say  to  man, 
"why  do  you  wrongfully  accuse  me?  why  do  you 
hunt  me  up  and  down  to  death  for  an  imaginary 
offence  ?  I  have  never  spoiled  a  leaf  of  your  prop- 
erty, much  less  your  wood.  Your  merciless  shot 
strikes  me,  at  the  very  time  I  am  doing  you  a  serv- 
ice. But  your  shortsightedness  will  not  let  you 
see  it,  or  your  pride  is  above  examining  closely 
the  actions  of  so  insignificant  a  little  bird  as  I  am. 
If  there  be  that  spark  of  feeling  in  your  breast 
which  they  say  man  possesses,  or  ought  to  possess, 
above  all  other  animals,  do  a  poor  injured  creature 
a  little  kindness,  and  watch  me  in  your  woods  only 
for  one  day.  I  never  wound  your  healthy  trees. 
I  would  perish  for  want  in  the  attempt.  The  sound 
bark  would  easily  resist  the  force  of  my  bill :  and 
were  I  even  to  pierce  through  it,  there  would  be 
nothing  inside  that  I  could  fancy,  or  my  stomach 
digest.  I  often  visit  them,  it  is  true,  but  a  knock 
or  two  convinces  me  that  I  must  go  elsewhere  for 
support ;  and  were  you  to  listen  attentively  to  the 
sound  which  my  bill  causes,  you  would  know 
whether  I  am  upon  a  healthy  or  an  unhealthy  tree. 


150     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

Wood  and  bark  are  not  my  food.  I  live  entirely 
upon  the  insects  which  have  already  formed  a 
lodgment  in  the  distempered  tree.  When  the  sound 
informs  me  that  my  prey  is  there,  I  labour  for 
hours  together  till  I  get  at  it ;  and  by  consuming 
it,  for  my  own  support,  I  prevent  its  further  dep- 
redations in  that  part.  Thus  I  discover  for  you 
your  hidden  and  unsuspected  foe,  wliich  has  been 
devouring  your  wood  in  such  secrecy,  that  you 
had  not  the  least  suspicion  it  was  there.  The  hole 
which  I  make  in  order  to  get  at  the  pernicious* 
vermin  will  be  seen  by  you  as  you  pass  under  the 
tree.  I  leave  it  as  a  signal  to  tell  you  that  your 
tree  has  already  stood  too  long.  It  is  past  its 
prime.  Millions  of  insects,  engendered  by  dis- 
ease, are  preying  upon  its  vitals.  Ere  long  it  will 
fall  a  log  in  useless  ruins.  Warned  by  this  loss, 
cut  down  the  rest  in  time,  and  spare,  0  spare  the 
unoffending  woodpecker ! ' ' 

In  the  rivers  and  different  creeks,  you  number 
six  species  of  the  Kingfisher.  They  make  their 
nest  in  a  hole  in  the  sand  on  the  side  of  the  bank 
As  there  is  always  plenty  of  foliage  to  protect 
them  from  the  heat  of  the  sun,  they  feed  at  all 
hours  of  the  day.  Though  their  plumage  is  pret- 
tily varied,  still  it  falls  far  short  of  the  brilliancy 
displayed  by  the  English  kingfisher.  This  little 
native  of  Britain  would  outweigh  them  altogether 
in  the  scale  of  beauty. 

A  bird  called  Jacamar  is  ofteii  taken  for  a  king- 
fisher, but  it  has  no  relationship  to  that  tribe ;  it 
frequently  sits  in  the  trees  over  the  water,  and  as 
its  beak  bears  some  resemblance  to  that  of  the 
kingfisher,  this  may  probably  account  for  its  being 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     151 

taken  for  one;  it  feeds  entirely  upon  insects;  it 
sits  on  a  branch  in  motionless  expectation,  and  as 
soon  as  a  fly,  butterfly,  or  moth  passes  by,  it  darts 
at  it,  and  returns  to  the  branch  it  had  just  left. 
It  seems  an  indolent,  sedentary  bird,  shunning  the 
society  of  all  others  in  the  forest.  It  never  visits 
the  plantations,  but  is  found  at  all  times  of  the 
year  in  the  woods.  There  are  four  species  of  jaca- 
mar  in  Demerara;  they  are  all  beautiful;  the 
largest,  rich  and  superb  in  the  extreme.  Its  plu- 
mage is  of  so  fine  a  changing  blue  and  golden 
green,  that  it  may  be  ranked  with  the  choicest  of 
the  humming-birds.  Nature  has  denied  it  a  song, 
but  given  a  costly  garment  in  lieu  of  it  The  small- 
est species  of  jacamar  is  very  common  in  the  dry 
savannas.  The  second  size,  all  golden  green  on 
the  back,  must  be  looked  for  in  the  wallaba  forest. 
The  third  is  found  throughout  the  whole  extent  of 
these  wilds ;  and  the  fourth,  which  is  the  largest, 
frequents  the  interior,  where  you  begin  to  per- 
ceive stones  in  the  ground. 

When  you  have  penetrated  far  into  Macoushia, 
you  hear  the  pretty  songster  called  Troupiale 
pour  forth  a  variety  of  sweet  and  plaintive  notes. 
This  is  the  bird  which  the  Portuguese  call  the 
Nightingale  of  Guiana;  its  predominant  colours 
are  rich  orange  and  shining  black,  arrayed  to 
great  advantage;  his  delicate  and  well-shaped 
frame  seems  unable  to  bear  captivity.  The  In- 
dians  sometimes  bring  down  troupiales  to  Sta- 
broek,  but  in  a  few  months  they  languish  and  die 
in  a  cage.  They  soon  become  very  familiar ;  and 
if  you  allow  them  the  liberty  of  the  house,  they 
live  longer  than  in  a  cage,  and  appear  in  better 


152    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

spirits;  but,  when  you  least  expect  it,  they  drop 
down  and  die  in  epilepsy. 

Smaller  in  size,  and  of  colour  not  so  rich  and 
somewhat  differently  arranged,  another  species  of 
troupiale  sings  melodiously  in  Demerara.  The 
woodcutter  is  particularly  favoured  by  him;  for 
while  the  hen  is  sitting  on  her  nest,  built  in  the 
roof  of  the  woodcutter's  house,  he  sings  for  hours 
together  close  by:  he  prefers  the  forests  to  the 
cultivated  parts. 

You  would  not  grudge  to  stop  for  a  few  min- 
utes, as  you  are  walking  in  the  plantations,  to  ob- 
serve a  third  species  of  troupiale :  his  wings,  tail, 
and  throat  are  black,  all  the  rest  of  the  body  is  a 
bright  yellow.  There  is  something  very  sweet 
and  plaintive  in  his  song,  though  much  shorter 
than  that  of  the  troupiale  in  the  interior. 

A  fourth  species  goes  in  flocks  from  place  to 
place  in  the  cultivated  parts  at  the  time  the  Indian 
corn  is  ripe ;  he  is  all  black,  except  the  head  and 
throat,  which  are  yellow;  Ms  attempt  at  song  is 
not  worth  attending  to. 

Wlierever  there  is  a  wild  fig-tree  ripe,  a  numer- 
ous species  of  birds,  called  Tangara,  is  sure  to  be 
on  it.  There  are  eighteen  beautiful  species  here. 
Their  plumage  is  very  rich  and  diversified ;  some 
of  them  boast  six  separate  colours;  others  have 
the  blue,  purple,  green,  and  black  so  kindly 
blended  into  each  other,  that  it  would  be  impossi- 
ble to  mark  their  boundaries ;  while  others  again 
exhibit  them  strong,  distinct,  and  abrupt:  many 
of  these  tangaras  have  a  fine  song.  They  seem  to 
partake  much  of  the  nature  of  our  linnets,  spar- 
rows, and  finches.    Some  of  them  are  fond  of  the 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     153 

plantations;  others  are  never  seen  there,  prefer- 
ring the  wild  seeds  of  the  forest  to  the  choicest 
fruits  planted  by  the  hand  of  man. 

On  the  same  fig-trees  to  which  they  repair,  and 
often  accidentally  up  and  down  the  forest,  you 
fall  in  with  four  species  of  Manikin.  The  largest 
is  white  and  black,  with  the  feathers  on  the  throat 
remarkably  long:  the  next  in  size  is  half  red  and 
half  black :  the  third,  black,  with  a  white  crown : 
the  fourth,  black,  with  a  golden  crown,  and  red 
feathers  at  the  knee.  The  half  red  and  half  black 
species  is  the  scarcest.  There  is  a  creek  in  the 
Demerara  called  Camouni.  About  ten  minutes 
from  the  mouth,  you  see  a  common-sized  fig-tree 
on  your  right  hand,  as  you  ascend,  hanging  over 
water;  it  bears  a  very  small  fig  twice  a  year. 
When  its  fruit  is  ripe,  this  manikin  is  on  the  tree 
from  morn  till  eve. 

On  all  the  ripe  fig-trees  in  the  forest  you  see 
the  bird  called  the  small  Tiger-bird.  Like  some  of 
our  belles  and  dandies,  it  has  a  gaudy  vest  to  veil 
an  ill-shaped  body:  the  throat,  and  part  of  the 
head,  are  a  bright  red ;  the  breast  and  belly  have 
black  spots  on  a  yellow  ground;  the  wings  are  a 
dark  green,  black,  and  white;  and  the  rump  and 
tail  black  and  green.  Like  the  manikin,  it  has  no 
song:  it  depends  solely  upon  a  showy  garment 
for  admiration. 

Devoid,  too,  of  song,  and  in  a  still  superber 
garb,  the  Yawaraciri  comes  to  feed  on  the  same 
tree.  It  has  a  bar  like  black  velvet  from  the  eyes 
to  the  beak;  its  legs  are  yellow;  its  throat,  wings 
and  tail  black ;  all  the  rest  of  the  body  a  charming 
blue.    Chiefly  in  the  dry  savannas,  and  here  and 


154    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

there  accidentally  in  the  forest,  you  see  a  songless 
yawaraeiri  still  lovelier  than  the  last :  liis  crown  is 
whitish  blue,  arrayed  like  a  coat  of  mail :  his  tail 
is  black,  his  wings  black  and  yellow;  legs  red; 
and  the  whole  body  a  glossy  blue.  Whilst  roving 
through  the  forest,  ever  and  anon  you  see  individ- 
uals of  the  wren  species,  busy  amongst  the  fallen 
leaves,  or  seeking  insects  at  the  roots  of  the  trees. 

Here,  too,  you  find  six  or  seven  species  of  small 
birds,  whose  backs  appear  to  be  overloaded  with 
silky  plumage.  One  of  these,  with  a  chestnut 
breast,  smoke-coloured  back,  red  tail,  white 
feathers  like  horns  on  his  head,  and  white,  nar- 
row-pointed feathers  under  the  jaw,  feeds  entirely 
upon  ants.  When  a  nest  of  large,  light  brown 
ants  emigrates,  one  following  the  other  in  mean- 
dering lines  above  a  mile  long,  you  see  this  bird 
watching  them,  and  every  now  and  then  picking 
them  up.  When  they  disappear  he  is  seen  no 
more:  perhaps  this  is  the  only  kind  of  ant  he  is 
fond  of;  when  these  ants  are  stirring,  you  are 
sure  to  find  him  near  them.  You  cannot  well  mis- 
take the  ant  after  you  have  once  been  in  its  com- 
pany, for  its  sting  is  very  severe,  and  you  can 
hardly  shoot  the  bird,  and  pick  it  up,  without  hav- 
ing five  or  six  upon  you. 

Parrots  and  Paroquets  are  very  numerous  here, 
and  of  many  different  kinds.  You  will  know  when 
they  are  near  you  in  the  forest,  not  only  by  the 
noise  they  make,  but  also  by  the  fruits  and  seeds 
which  they  let  fall  while  they  are  feeding. 

The  Hia-hia  Parrot,  called  in  England  the  Par- 
rot of  the  Sun,  is  very  remarkable:  he  can  erect 
at  pleasure  a  fine  radiated  circle  of  tartan  feathers 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     155 

quite  round  the  back  of  his  head  from  jaw  to  jaw. 
The  fore-part  of  his  head  is  white ;  his  back,  tail, 
and  wings,  green ;  and  his  breast  and  belly  tartan. 

Superior  in  size  and  beauty  to  every  parrot  of 
South  America,  the  Ara  will  force  you  to  take 
3"our  eyes  from  the  rest  of  animated  nature,  and 
gaze  at  him :  his  commanding  strength,  the  flaming 
scarlet  of  his  body,  the  lovely  variety  of  red,  yel- 
low, blue  and  green  in  his  wings,  the  extraordi- 
nary length  of  his  scarlet  and  blue  tail,  seem  all  to 
join  and  demand  for  him  the  title  of  ''emperor  of 
all  the  parrots."  He  is  scarce  in  Demerara  till 
3^ou  reach  the  confines  of  the  Macoushi  country; 
there  he  is  in  vast  abundance ;  he  mostly  feeds  on 
trees  of  the  palm  species.  Wlien  the  coucourite- 
trees  have  ripe  fruit  on  them,  they  are  covered 
with  this  magnificent  parrot:  he  is  not  shy  or 
wary ;  you  may  take  your  blow-pipe  and  quiver  of 
poisoned  arrows,  and  kill  more  than  you  are  able 
to  carry  back  to  your  hut.  They  are  very  vocifer- 
ous, and  like  the  common  parrots,  rise  up  in  bodies 
towards  sunset,  and  fly  two  and  two  to  their  place 
of  rest.  It  is  a  grand  sight  in  ornithology  to  see 
thousands  of  aras  flying  over  your  head,  low 
enough  to  let  you  have  a  full  view  of  their  flaming 
mantle.  The  Indians  find  their  flesh  very  good, 
and  the  feathers  serve  for  ornaments  in  their 
head-dresses.  They  breed  in  the  holes  of  trees, 
are  easily  reared  and  tamed,  and  learn  to  speak 
pretty  distinctly. 

Another  species  frequents  the  low  lands  of  Dem- 
erara. He  is  nearly  the  size  of  the  scarlet  ara,  but 
much  inferior  in  plumage.  Blue  and  yellow  are 
his  predominant  colours. 


156     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

Along  the  creeks  and  river  sides,  and  in  the  wet 
savannas,  six  species  of  the  Bittern  will  engage 
your  attention.  They  are  all  handsome.  The 
smallest  not  so  large  as  the  English  water-hen. 

In  the  savannas,  too,  you  will  sometimes  sur- 
prise the  snow-white  Egrette,  whose  back  is 
adorned  with  the  plumes  from  which  it  takes  its 
name.  Here  too  the  spur-winged  Water-hen,  the 
blue  and  green  Water-hen,  and  two  other  species 
of  ordinary  plumage,  are  found.  While  in  quest 
of  these,  the  Blue  Heron,  the  large  and  small 
Brown  Heron,  the  Boat-bill,  and  Muscovy  Duck, 
now  and  then  rise  up  before  you. 

When  the  sun  has  sunk  in  the  western  woods, 
no  longer  agitated  by  the  breeze;  when  you  can 
only  see  a  straggler  or  two  of  the  feathered  tribe 
hastening  to  join  its  mate,  already  at  its  roosting- 
place,  then  it  is  that  the  Goatsucker  comes  out  of 
the  forest,  where  it  has  sat  all  day  long  in  slum- 
bering ease,  unmindful  of  the  gay  and  busy  scenes 
around  it.  Its  eyes  are  too  delicately  formed  to 
bear  the  light,  and  thus  it  is  forced  to  shun  the 
flaming  face  of  day,  and  wait  in  patience  till  night 
invites  him  to  partake  of  the  pleasures  her  dusky 
presence  brings. 

The  harmless,  unoffending  goatsucker,  from  the 
time  of  Aristotle  down  to  the  present  day,  has 
been  in  disgrace  with  man.  Father  has  handed 
down  to  son,  and  author  to  author  that  this  noc- 
turnal thief  subsists  by  milking  the  flocks.  Poor 
injured  little  bird  of  night,  how  sadly  hast  thou 
suffered,  and  how  foul  a  stain  has  inattention  to 
facts  put  upon  thy  character!     Thou  hast  never 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     157 

robbed  man  of  any  part  of  his  property,  nor  de- 
prived the  kid  of  a  drop  of  milk. 

When  the  moon  shines  bright,  you  may  have  a 
fair  opportunity  of  examining  the  goatsucker. 
You  will  see  it  close  by  the  cows,  goats,  and  sheep, 
jumping  up  every  now  and  then,  under  their 
bellies.  Approach  a  little  nearer, — he  is  not  shy, 
*'he  fears  no  danger,  for  he  knows  no  sin."  See 
how  the  nocturnal  flies  are  tormenting  the  herd, 
and  with  what  dexterity  he  springs  up  and  catches 
them,  as  fast  as  they  alight  on  the  belly,  legs,  and 
udder  of  the  animals.  Observe  how  quiet  they 
stand,  and  how  sensible  they  seem  of  his  good 
oflBces,  for  they  neither  strike  at  him,  nor  hit  him 
with  their  tail,  nor  tread  on  him,  nor  try  to  drive 
him  away  as  an  uncivil  intruder.  Were  you  to 
dissect  him,  and  inspect  his  stomach,  you  would 
find  no  milk  there.  It  is  full  of  the  flies  which 
have  been  annoying  the  herd. 

The  prettily  mottled  plumage  of  the  goatsucker, 
like  that  of  the  owl,  wants  the  lustre  which  is  ob- 
served in  the  feathers  of  the  birds  of  day.  This 
at  once  marks  him  as  a  lover  of  the  pale  moon's 
nightly  beams.  There  are  nine  species  here.  The 
largest  appears  nearly  the  size  of  the  English 
wood-owl.  Its  cry  is  so  remarkable,  that  having 
once  heard  it  you  will  never  forget  it.  When  night 
reigns  over  these  immeasurable  wilds,  whilst  lying 
in  your  hammock,  you  will  hear  this  goatsucker 
lamenting  like  one  in  deep  distress.  A  stranger 
would  never  conceive  it  to  be  the  cry  of  a  bird. 
He  would  say  it  was  the  departing  voice  of  a  mid- 
night-murdered victim,  or  the  last  wailing  of  Ni- 
obe  for  her  poor  children,  before  she  was  turned 


158    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

into  stone.  Suppose  yourself  in  hopeless  sorrow, 
begin  with  a  high  loud  note,  and  pronounce,  "ha, 
ha,  ha,  ha,  ha,  ha,  ha, ' '  each  note  lower  and  lower, 
till  the  last  is  scarcely  heard,  pausing  a  moment 
or  two  betwixt  every  note,  and  you  will  have 
some  idea  of  the  moaning  of  the  largest  goat- 
sucker in  Demerara. 

Four  other  species  of  the  goatsucker  articulate 
some  words  so  distinctly,  that  they  have  received 
their  names  from  the  sentences  they  utter,  and 
absolutely  bewilder  the  stranger  on  his  arrival  in 
these  parts.  The  most  common  one  sits  down  close 
by  your  door,  and  flies  and  alights  three  or  four 
yards  before  you,  as  you  walk  along  the  road, 
crying,  "A¥lio-are-you,  who-who-who-are-you?" 
Another  bids  you,  "Work-away,  work- work- work- 
away." A  third  cries,  mournfully,  "Willy-come- 
go.  Willy- Willy- Willy-come-go. ' '  And  high  up  in 
the  country,  a  fourth  tells  you  to  "Whip-poor- 
Will.    Whip-whip-whip-poor- Will. ' ' 

You  will  never  persuade  the  negro  to  destroy 
these  birds  or  get  the  Indian  to  let  fly  his  arrow 
at  them.  They  are  birds  of  omen  and  reverential 
dread.  Jumbo,  the  demon  of  Africa,  has  them 
under  his  command;  and  they  equally  obey  the 
Yabahou,  or  Demerara  Indian  Devil.  They  are 
the  receptacles  for  departed  souls,  who  come  back 
again  to  earth,  unable  to  rest  for  crimes  done  in 
their  days  of  nature;  or  they  are  expressly  sent 
by  Jumbo,  or  Yabahou,  to  haunt  cruel  and  hard- 
hearted masters,  and  retaliate  injuries  received 
from  them.  If  the  largest  goatsucker  chance  to 
cry  near  the  white  man's  door,  sorrow  and  grief 
will    soon   be    inside;    and    they    expect    to    see 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     159 

the  master  waste  away  with  a  slow-consuming 
sickness.  If  it  be  heard  close  to  the  negro's  or 
Indian's  hut,  from  that  night  misfortune  sits 
brooding  over  it ;  and  they  await  the  event  in  ter- 
rible suspense. 

You  will  forgive  the  poor  Indian  of  Guiana  for 
this.  He  knows  no  better ;  he  has  nobody  to  teach 
him.  But  shame  it  is,  that  in  our  own  civilized 
country,  the  black  cat  and  broomstaff  should  be 
considered  as  conductors  to  and  from  the  regions 
of  departed  spirits. 

Many  years  ago  I  knew  poor  harmless  Mary; 
old  age  had  marked  her  strongly,  just  as  he  will 
mark  you  and  me,  should  we  arrive  at  her  years 
and  carry  the  weiglit  of  grief  which  bent  her  dou- 
ble. The  old  men  of  the  village  said  she  had  been 
very  pretty  in  her  youth;  and  nothing  could  be 
seen  more  comely  than  Mary  when  she  danced  on 
the  green.  He  who  had  gained  her  heart,  left  her 
for  another,  less  fair,  though  richer  than  Mary. 
From  that  time  she  became  sad  and  pensive ;  the 
rose  left  her  cheek,  and  she  was  never  more  seen 
to  dance  round  the  May-pole  on  the  green:  her 
expectations  were  blighted;  she  became  quite  in- 
different to  everything  around  her,  and  seemed  to 
think  of  nothing  but  how  she  could  best  attend 
her  mother,  who  was  lame,  and  not  long  for  this 
life.  Her  mother  had  begged  a  black  kitten  from 
some  boys  who  were  going  to  drown  it,  and  in  her 
last  illness  she  told  Mary  to  be  kind  to  it  for  her 
sake. 

When  age  and  want  had  destroyed  the  sym- 
metry of  Mary's  fine  form,  the  village  began  to 
consider  her  as  one  who  had  dealings  with  spirits ; 


160     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

her  cat  confirmed  the  suspicion.  If  a  cow  died,  or 
a  ^dllager  wasted  away  with  an  unknown  com- 
plaint, Mary  and  her  cat  had  it  to  answer  for. 
Her  broom  sometimes  served  her  for  a  walking- 
stick;  and  if  ever  she  supported  her  tottering 
frame  with  it  as  far  as  the  May-pole,  where  once, 
in  youthful  bloom  and  beauty,  she  had  attracted 
the  eyes  of  all,  the  boys  would  surround  her,  and 
make  sport  of  her,  while  her  cat  had  neither  friend 
nor  safety  beyond  the  cottage  wall.  Nobody  con- 
sidered it  cruel  or  uncharitable  to  torment  a 
witch ;  and  it  is  probable,  long  before  this,  that 
cruelty,  old  age,  and  want,  have  worn  her  out,  and 
that  both  poor  Mary  and  her  cat  have  ceased  to  be. 
Would  you  wish  to  pursue  the  different  species 
of  game,  well  stored  and  boundless  is  your  range 
in  Demerara.  Here  no  one  dogs  you,  and  after- 
wards clandestinely  inquires  if  you  have  a  hun- 
dred a  year  in  land  to  entitle  you  to  enjoy  such 
patrician  sport.  Here  no  saucy  intruder  asks  if 
you  have  taken  out  a  licence,  by  virtue  of  which 
you  are  allowed  to  kill  birds  which  have  bred  upon 
your  own  property.    Here 

"You  are  as  free  as  when  God  first  made  man, 
Ere  the  vile  laws  of  servitude  began, 
And  wild  in  woods  the  noble  savage  ran." 

Before  the  morning's  dawn  you  hear  a  noise  in 
the  forest,  which  sounds  like  "duraquaura"  often 
repeated.  This  is  the  Partridge,  a  little  smaller, 
and  differing  somewhat  in  colour  from  the  English 
partridge ;  it  lives  entirely  in  the  forest,  and  prob- 
ably the  young  brood  very  soon  leave  their  par- 
ents, as  you  never  flush  more  than  two  birds  in  the 
same  place,  and  in  general  only  one. 


^rWK:  I-  ••  I  iVjh'. '.  i, 


Trumpeter  walking  with  liis  Master 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     161 

About  the  same  hour,  and  sometimes  even  at 
midnight,  you  hear  two  species  of  Maam,  or  Tin- 
amou,  send  forth  their  long  and  plaintive  whistle 
from  the  depth  of  the  forest.  The  flesh  of  both  is 
delicious.  The  largest  is  plumper,  and  almost 
equals  in  size  the  black  cock  of  Northumberland. 
The  quail  is  said  to  be  here,  though  rare. 

The  Hannaquoi,  which  some  have  compared  to 
the  pheasant,  though  with  little  reason,  is  very- 
common. 

Here  are  also  two  species  of  the  Powise,  or 
Hocco,  and  two  of  the  small  wild  turkeys  called 
Maroudi;  they  feed  on  the  ripe  fruits  of  the  for- 
est, and  are  found  in  all  directions  in  these  exten- 
sive wilds.  You  will  admire  the  Horned  Screamer 
as  a  stately  and  majestic  bird:  he  is  almost  the 
size  of  the  turkey  cock;  on  his  head  is  a  long 
slender  horn,  and  each  wing  is  armed  with  a 
strong,  sharp,  triangular  spur,  an  inch  long. 

Sometimes  you  will  fall  in  with  flocks  of  two  or 
three  hundred  Waracabas,  or  Trumpeters,  called 
so  from  the  singular  noise  they  produce.  Their 
breast  is  adorned  with  beautiful  changing  blue 
and  purple  feathers;  their  head  and  neck  like 
velvet;  their  wings  and  back  grey,  and  belly 
black.  They  run  with  great  swiftness,  and  when 
domesticated,  attend  their  master  in  his  walks 
with  as  much  apparent  affection  as  his  dog.  They 
have  no  spurs,  but  still,  such  is  their  high  spirit 
and  activity,  that  they  browbeat  every  dunghill 
fowl  in  the  yard,  and  force  the  Guinea  birds,  dogs 
and  turkeys  to  own  their  superiority. 

If,  kind  and  gentle  reader,  thou  shouldst  ever 
visit  these  regions  with  an  intention  to  examine 
11 


162     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

their  productions,  perhaps  the  few  observations 
contained  in  these  Wanderings  may  be  of  service 
to  thee;  excuse  their  brevity:  more  could  have 
been  written,  and  each  bird  more  particularly  de- 
scribed, but  it  would  have  been  pressing  too  hard 
upon  thy  time  and  patience. 

Soon  after  arriving  in  these  parts,  thou  wilt  find 
that  the  species  here  enumerated  are  only  as  a 
handful  from  a  well-stored  granary.  Nothing  has 
been  said  of  the  Eagles,  the  Falcons,  the  Hawks, 
and  Shrikes;  nothing  of  the  different  species  of 
Vultures,  the  king  of  which  is  very  handsome,  and 
seems  to  be  the  only  bird  which  claims  regal  hon- 
ours from  a  surrounding  tribe.  It  is  a  fact  beyond 
all  dispute,  that  when  the  scent  of  carrion  has 
drawn  together  hundreds  of  the  common  vultures, 
they  all  retire  from  the  carcass  as  soon  as  the 
King  of  the  Vultures  makes  his  appearance. 
When  his  majesty  has  satisfied  the  cravings  of  his 
royal  stomach  with  the  choicest  bits  from  the  most 
stinking  and  corrupted  parts,  he  generally  retires 
to  a  neighbouring  tree,  and  then  the  common  vul- 
tures return  in  crowds  to  gobble  down  his  leav- 
ings. The  Indians,  as  well  as  the  whites,  have 
observed  this;  for  when  one  of  them,  who  has 
learned  a  little  English,  sees  the  king,  and  wishes 
you  to  have  a  proper  notion  of  the  bird,  he  says, 
* '  There  is  the  governor  of  the  carrion  crows. ' ' 

Now,  the  Indians  have  never  heard  of  a  per- 
sonage in  Demerara  higher  than  that  of  governor ; 
and  the  colonists,  through  a  common  mistake,  call 
the  vultures  carrion  crows.  Hence,  the  Indian, 
in  order  to  express  the  dominion  of  this  bird  over 
the  common  vultures,  tells  you  he  is  governor 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     163 

of  the  carrion  crows.  The  Spaniards  have  also 
observed  it ;  for,  through  all  the  Spanish  Main,  he 
is  called  Eey  de  Zamuros,  King  of  the  Vultures. 
The  many  species  of  Owls,  too,  have  not  been  no- 
ticed; and  no  mention  made  of  the  Columbine 
tribe.  The  prodigious  variety  of  Water  Fowl  on 
the  sea-shore  has  been  but  barely  hinted  at. 

There,  and  on  the  borders  and  surface  of  the 
inland  waters,  in  the  marshes  and  creeks,  besides 
the  flamingos,  scarlet  curlews,  and  spoonbills,  al- 
ready mentioned,  will  be  found  Greenish-Brown 
Curlews,  Sandpipers,  Rails,  Coots,  Gulls,  Peli- 
cans, Jabirus,  Nandapoas,  Crabiers,  Snipes,  Plov- 
ers, Ducks,  Geese,  Cranes,  and  Anhingas;  most 
of  them  in  vast  abundance ;  some  frequenting  only 
the  sea-coast,  others  only  the  interior,  according 
to  their  different  natures ;  all  worthy  the  attention 
of  the  naturalist,  all  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  cab- 
inet of  the  curious. 

Should  thy  comprehensive  genius  not  confine 
itself  to  birds  alone,  grand  is  the  appearance  of 
other  objects  all  around.  Thou  art  in  a  land  rich 
in  botany  and  mineralogy,  rich  in  zoology  and 
entomology.  Animation  will  glow  in  thy  looks, 
and  exercise  will  brace  thy  frame  in  vigour.  The 
very  time  of  thy  absence  from  the  tables  of  hetero- 
geneous luxury  will  be  profitable  to  thy  stomach, 
perhaps  already  sorely  drenched  with  Londo- 
Parisian  sauces,  and  a  new  stock  of  health  will 
bring  thee  an  appetite  to  relish  the  wholesome 
food  of  the  chase;  never-failing  sleep  will  wait 
on  thee  at  the  time  she  comes  to  soothe  the  rest  of 
animated  nature;  and,  ere  the  sun's  rays  appear 
in  the  horizon,  thou  wilt  spring  from  thy  ham- 


164     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

mock  fresh  as  tlie  April  lark.  Be  convinced  also, 
that  the  dangers  and  difficulties  which  are  gener- 
ally supposed  to  accompany  the  traveller  in  his 
journey  through  distant  regions,  are  not  half  so 
numerous  or  dreadful  as  they  arQ  commonly 
thought  to  be. 

The  youth  who  incautiously  reels  into  the  lobby 
of  Drury-lane,  after  leaving  the  table  sacred  to 
the  god  of  wine,  is  exposed  to  more  certain  ruin, 
sickness  and  decay,  than  he  who  wanders  a  whole 
year  in  the  wilds  of  Demerara.  But  this  will 
never  be  believed;  because  the  disasters  arising 
from  dissipation  are  so  common  and  frequent  in 
civilized  life,  that  man  becomes  quite  habituated 
to  them ;  and  sees  daily  victims  sink  into  the  tomb 
long  before  their  time,  without  ever  once  taking 
alarm  at  the  causes  which  precipitated  them  head- 
long into  it. 

But  the  dangers  which  a  traveller  exposes  him- 
self to  in  foreign  parts  are  novel,  out  of  the  way 
things  to  a  man  at  home.  The  remotest  apprehen- 
sion of  meeting  a  tremendous  tiger,  of  being  car- 
ried off  by  a  flying  dragon,  or  having  his  bones 
picked  by  a  famished  cannibal;  oh,  that  makes 
him  shudder.  It  sounds  in  his  ears  like  the  burst- 
ing of  a  bomb- shell.  Thank  Heaven,  he  is  safe  by 
his  own  fire-side ! 

Prudence  and  resolution  ought  to  be  the  trav- 
eller's constant  companions.  The  first  will  cause 
him  to  avoid  a  number  of  snares  which  he 
will  find  in  the  path  as  he  journeys  on;  and  the 
second  will  always  lend  a  hand  to  assist  him,  if 
he  has  unavoidably  got  entangled  in  them.  The 
little  distinctions  which  have  been  shown  him  at 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     165 

his  own  home  ought  to  be  forgotten  when  he 
travels  over  the  world  at  large;  for  strangers 
know  nothing  of  his  former  merits,  and  it  is  nec- 
essary that  they  should  witness  them  before  they 
pay  him  the  tribute  which  he  was  wont  to  receive 
within  his  own  doors.  Thus,  to  be  kind  and  affa- 
ble to  those  we  meet,  to  mix  in  their  amusements, 
to  pay  a  compliment  or  two  to  their  manners  and 
customs,  to  respect  their  elders,  to  give  a  little  to 
their  distressed  or  needy,  and  to  feel,  as  it  were, 
at  home  amongst  them,  is  the  sure  way  to  enable 
you  to  pass  merrily  on,  and  to  find  other  comforts 
as  sweet  and  palatable  as  those  which  you  were 
accustomed  to  partake  of  amongst  your  friends 
and  acquaintance  in  your  own  native  land. 

We  will  now  ascend  in  fancy  on  Icarian  wing, 
and  take  a  view  of  Guiana  in  general.  See  an  im- 
mense plain!  betwixt  two  of  the  largest  rivers 
in  the  world,  level  as  a  bowling-green,  save  at 
Cayenne,  and  covered  with  trees  along  the  coast 
quite  to  the  Atlantic  wave,  except  where  the  plan- 
tations make  a  little  vacancy  amongst  the  foliage. 

Though  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  torrid  zone, 
the  sun's  rays  are  not  so  intolerable  as  might  be 
imagined,  on  account  of  the  perpetual  verdure 
and  refreshing  north-east  breeze.  See  what  num- 
bers of  broad  and  rapid  rivers  intersect  it  in  their 
journey  to  the  ocean,  and  that  not  a  stone  or  a 
pebble  is  to  be  found  on  their  banks,  or  in  any 
part  of  the  country,  till  your  eye  catches  the  hills 
in  the  interior.  How  beautiful  and  magnificent 
are  the  lakes  in  the  heart  of  the  forests,  and  how 
charming  the  forests  themselves,  for  miles  after 
miles  on  each  side  of  the  rivers!    How  extensive 


166    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

appear  the  savannas  or  natural  meadows,  teeming 
with  innumerable  herds  of  cattle,  where  the  Por- 
tuguese and  Spaniards  are  settled,  but  desert  as 
Saara,  where  the  English  and  Dutch  claim  domin- 
ion !  How  gradually  the  face  of  the  country  rises ! 
See  the  sand-hills  all  clothed  in  wood  first  emerg- 
ing from  the  level,  then  hills  a  little  higher,  rugged 
with  bold  and  craggy  rocks,  peeping  out  from 
amongst  the  most  luxuriant  timber.  Then  come 
plains,  and  dells,  and  far-extending  valleys,  ar- 
rayed in  richest  foliage ;  and  beyond  them,  moun- 
tains piled  on  mountains,  some  bearing  prodigious 
forests,  others  of  bleak  and  barren  aspect.  Thus 
your  eye  wanders  on,  over  scenes  of  varied  loveli- 
ness and  grandeur,  till  it  rests  on  the  stupendous 
pinnacles  of  the  long-continued  Cordilleras  de  los 
Andes,  which  rise  in  towering  majesty  and  com- 
mand all  America. 

How  fertile  must  the  low-lands  be,  from  the 
accumulation  of  fallen  leaves  and  trees  for  cen- 
turies! How  propitious  the  swamps  and  slimy 
beds  of  the  rivers,  heated  by  a  downward  sun,  to 
the  amazing  growth  of  alligators,  serpents,  and 
innumerable  insects!  How  inviting  the  forests 
to  the  feathered  tribes,  where  you  see  buds,  blos- 
soms, green  and  ripe  fruit,  full  grown  and  fading 
leaves,  all  on  the  same  tree !  How  secure  the  wild 
beasts  may  rove  in  endless  mazes !  Perhaps  those 
mountains  too,  which  appear  so  bleak  and  naked, 
as  if  quite  neglected,  are,  like  Potosi,  full  of  pre- 
cious metals. 

Let  us  now  return  the  pinions  we  borrowed 
from  Icarus,  and  prepare  to  bid  farewell  to  the 
wilds.    The  time  allotted  to  these  Wanderings  is 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     167 

drawing  fast  to  a  close.  Every  day  for  the  last 
six  montlis  has  been  employed  in  paying  close 
attention  to  natural  history  in  the  forests  of  Dem- 
erara.  Above  two  hundred  specimens  of  the  finest 
birds  have  been  collected,  and  a  pretty  just  knowl- 
edge formed  of  their  haunts  and  economy.  From 
the  time  of  leaving  England,  in  March,  1816,  to 
the  present  day,  nothing  has  intervened  to  arrest 
a  fine  flow  of  health,  saving  a  quartan  ague,  which 
did  not  tarry,  but  fled  as  suddenly  as  it  appeared. 
And  now  I  take  leave  of  thee,  kind  and  gentle 
reader.  The  new  mode  of  preserving  birds,  here- 
tofore promised  thee,  shall  not  be  forgotten.  The 
plan  is  already  formed  in  imagination,  and  can  be 
penned  down  during  the  passage  across  the  At- 
lantic. If  the  few  remarks  in  these  Wanderings 
shall  have  any  weight  in  inciting  thee  to  sally 
forth  and  explore  the  vast  and  well- stored  regions 
of  Demerara,  I  have  gained  my  end.    Adieu. 

Charles  Waterton. 

April  6, 1817. 


THIRD  JOURNEY 

CHAPTER  I 

"Desertosque  videre  locos,  littusque  relictura. " 

Gentle  reader,  after  staying  a  few  months  in 
England,  I  strayed  across  the  Alps  and  the  Ap- 
penines,  and  returned  home,  but  could  not  tarry. 
Guiana  still  whispered  in  my  ear,  and  seemed  to 
invite  me  once  more  to  wander  through  her  dis- 
tant forests. 

Shouldst  thou  have  a  leisure  hour  to  read  what 
follows,  I  pray  thee  pardon  the  frequent  use  of 
that  unwelcome  monosyllable  /.  It  could  not  well 
be  avoided,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1820,  I  sailed  from  the  Clyde  on  board  the 
Glenbervie,  a  fine  West-Indiaman.  She  was  driven 
to  the  north-west  of  Ireland,  and  had  to  contend 
with  a  foul  and  wintry  wind  for  above  a  fortnight. 
At  last  it  changed,  and  we  had  a  pleasant  passage 
across  the  Atlantic. 

Sad  and  mournful  was  the  story  we  heard  on 
entering  the  river  Demerara.  The  yellow  fever 
had  swept  off  numbers  of  the  old  inhabitants,  and 
the  mortal  remains  of  many  a  new  comer  were 
daily  passing  down  the  streets,  in  slow  and  mute 
procession  to  their  last  resting-place. 

After  staying  a  few  days  in  the  town,  I  went  up 
the  Demerara  to  the  former  habitation  of  my 
worthy  friend,  Mr.  Edmonstone,  in  Mibiri  creek. 

168 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     169 

The  house  had  been  abandoned  for  some  years. 
On  arriving  at  the  hill,  the  remembrance  of  scenes 
long  past  and  gone  naturally  broke  in  upon  the 
mind.  All  was  changed ;  the  house  was  in  ruins, 
and  gradually  sinking  under  the  influence  of  the 
sun  and  rain ;  the  roof  had  nearly  fallen  in ;  and 
the  room  where  once  governors  and  generals  had 
caroused,  was  now  dismantled,  and  tenanted  by 
the  vampire.    You  would  have  said, 

**  'Tia  now  the  vampire's  bleak  abode, 
'Tis  now  the  apartment  of  the  toad; 
'Tia  here  the  painful  Chegoe  feeds, 
'Tis  here  the  dire  Labarri  breeds, 
Conceal 'd  in  ruins,  moss,  and  weeds." 

On  the  outside  of  the  house,  nature  had  nearly 
reassumed  her  ancient  right:  a  few  straggling 
fruit-trees  were  still  discernible  amid  the  varied 
hue  of  the  near  approaching  forest ;  they  seemed 
like  strangers  lost,  and  bewildered,  and  unpitied, 
in  a  foreign  land,  destined  to  linger  a  little  longer, 
and  then  sink  down  for  ever. 

I  hired  some  negroes  from  a  woodcutter  in  an- 
other creek  to  repair  the  roof;  and  then  the 
house,  or  at  least  what  remained  of  it,  became 
head-quarters  for  natural  history.  The  frogs,  and 
here  and  there  a  snake,  received  that  attention 
which  the  weak  in  this  world  generally  experience 
from  the  strong,  and  which  the  law  commonly  de- 
nominates an  ejectment.  But  here,  neither  the 
frogs  nor  serpents  were  ill-treated;  they  sallied 
forth,  without  buffet  or  rebuke,  to  choose  their 
place  of  residence ;  the  world  was  all  before  them. 
The  owls  went  away  of  their  own  accord,  prefer- 


170    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AIMERICA 

ing  to  retire  to  a  hollow  tree  rather  than  to  asso- 
ciate with  their  new  landlord.  The  bats  and 
vampires  stayed  with  me,  and  went  in  and  out  as 
usual. 

It  was  upon  this  hill  in  former  days  that  I  first 
tried  to  teach  John,  the  black  slave  of  my  friend 
Mr.  Edmonstone,  the  proper  way  to  do  birds. 
But  John  had  poor  abilities,  and  it  required  much 
time  and  patience  to  drive  anything  into  him. 
Some  years  after  this  his  master  took  him  to  Scot- 
land, where,  becoming  free,  John  left  him,  and 
got  employed  in  the  Glasgow,  and  then  the  Edin- 
burgh museum.  Mr.  Eobert  Edmonstone,  nephew 
to  the  above  gentleman,  had  a  fine  mulatto  capa- 
ble of  learning  anything.  He  requested  me  to 
teach  him  the  art.  I  did  so.  He  was  docile  and 
active,  and  was  with  me  all  the  time  in  the  forest ; 
I  left  him  there  to  keep  up  this  new  art  of  preserv- 
ing birds,  and  to  communicate  it  to  others.  Here 
then  I  fixed  my  head  quarters,  in  the  ruins  of  this 
once  gay  and  hospitable  house.  Close  by,  in  a 
little  hut,  which  in  times  long  past  had  served 
for  a  store  to  keep  provisions  in,  there  lived  a 
coloured  man  and  his  wife,  by  name  Backer. 
Many  a  kind  turn  they  did  to  me ;  and  I  was  more 
than  once  of  service  to  them  and  their  children, 
by  bringing  to  their  relief  in  time  of  sickness 
what  little  knowledge  I  had  acquired  of  medicine. 

I  would  here,  gentle  reader,  wish  to  draw  thy 
attention,  for  a  few  minutes,  to  physic,  raiment, 
and  diet.  Shouldst  thou  ever  wander  through 
these  remote  and  dreary  wilds,  forget  not  to  carry 
with  thee  bark,  laudanum,  calomel,  and  jalap,  and 
the  lancet.     There  are  no  druggist   shops  here, 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     171 

nor  sons  of  Galen  to  apply  to  in  time  of  need.  I 
never  go  encumbered  with  many  clothes.  A  thin 
flannel  waistcoat  under  a  check  shirt,  a  pair  of 
trousers,  and  a  hat,  were  all  my  wardrobe;  shoes 
and  stockings  I  seldom  had  on.  In  dry  weather 
they  would  have  irritated  the  feet,  and  retarded 
me  in  the  chase  of  wild  beasts;  and  in  the  rainy 
season  they  would  have  kept  me  in  a  perpetual 
state  of  damp  and  moisture.  I  eat  moderately, 
and  never  drink  wine,  spirits,  or  fermented 
liquors  in  any  climate.  This  abstemiousness  has 
ever  proved  a  faithful  friend;  it  carried  me 
triumphant  through  the  epidemia  at  Malaga, 
where  death  made  such  havoc  about  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  century;  and  it  has  since 
befriended  me  in  many  a  fit  of  sickness,  brought 
on  by  exposure  to  the  noon-day  sun,  to  the  dews 
of  night,  to  the  pelting  shower  and  unwholesome 
food. 

Perhaps  it  will  be  as  well,  here,  to  mention  a 
fever  which  came  on,  and  the  treatment  of  it;  it 
may  possibly  be  of  use  to  thee,  shouldst  thou  turn 
wanderer  in  the  tropics :  a  word  or  two  also  of  a 
wound  I  got  in  the  forest,  and  then  we  will  say 
no  more  of  the  little  accidents  which  sometimes 
occur,  and  attend  solely  to  natural  history.  We 
shall  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  wild  ani- 
mals in  their  native  haunts,  undisturbed  and  un- 
broken in  upon  by  man.  We  shall  have  time  and 
leisure  to  look  more  closely  at  them,  and  probably 
rectify  some  errors  which,  for  want  of  proper 
information  or  a  near  observance,  have  crept  into 
their  several  histories. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  June,  when  the  sun  was 


172    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  A^IERICA 

within  a  few  days  of  Cancer,  that  I  had  a  severe 
attack  of  fever.  There  had  been  a  deluge  of  rain, 
accompanied  with  tremendoiis  thunder  and  light- 
ning, and  very  little  sun.  Nothing  could  exceed 
the  dampness  of  the  atmosphere.  For  two  or 
three  days  I  had  been  in  a  kind  of  twilight  state 
of  health,  neither  ill  nor  what  you  may  call  well ; 
I  yawned  and  felt  weary  without  exercise,  and  my 
sleep  was  merely  slumber.  This  was  the  time  to 
have  taken  medicine;  but  I  neglected  to  do  so, 
though  I  had  just  been  reading,  ''0  navis  referent 
in  mare  te  novi  fluctus,  0  quid  agis?  fortiter 
occupa  portum."  I  awoke  at  midnight;  a  cruel 
headache,  thirst,  and  pain  in  the  small  of  the 
back,  informed  me  what  the  case  was.  Had 
Chiron  himself  been  present,  he  could  not  have 
told  me  more  distinctly  that  I  was  going  to  have 
a  tight  brush  of  it,  and  that  I  ought  to  meet  it 
with  becoming  fortitude.  I  dozed,  and  woke,  and 
startled,  and  then  dozed  again,  and  suddenly 
awoke,  thinking  I  was  falling  down  a  precipice. 

The  return  of  the  bats  to  their  diurnal  retreat, 
which  was  in  the  thatch  above  my  hammock,  in- 
formed me  that  the  sun  was  now  fast  approach- 
ing to  the  eastern  horizon.  I  arose,  in  languor 
and  in  pain,  the  pulse  at  one  hundred  and  twenty. 
I  took  ten  grains  of  calomel  and  a  scruple  of 
jalap,  and  drank  during  the  day  large  draughts 
of  tea,  weak  and  warm.  The  physic  did  its  duty ; 
but  there  was  no  remission  of  fever  or  headache, 
though  the  pain  of  the  back  was  less  acute,  I 
was  saved  the  trouble  of  keeping  the  room  cool, 
as  the  wind  beat  in  at  every  quarter. 

At  five  in  the  evening  the  pulse  had  risen  to  one 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     173 

hundred  and  thirty,  and  the  headache  almost  in- 
supportable, especially  on  looking  to  the  right  or 
left.  I  now  opened  a  vein,  and  made  a  large 
orifice,  to  allow  the  blood  to  rush  out  rapidly;  I 
closed  it  after  losing  sixteen  ounces.  I  then 
steeped  my  feet  in  warm  water,  and  got  into  the 
hammock.  After  bleeding,  the  pulse  fell  to  ninety, 
and  the  head  was  much  relieved;  but  during  the 
night,  which  was  very  restless,  the  pulse  rose 
again  to  one  hundred  and  twenty,  and  at  times 
the  headache  was  distressing.  I  relieved  the 
headache  from  time  to  time  by  applying  cold 
water  to  the  temples,  and  holding  a  wet  hand- 
kerchief there.  The  next  morning  the  fever  ran 
very  high,  and  I  took  five  more  grains  of  calomel 
and  ten  of  jalap,  determined,  whatever  might  be 
the  case,  this  should  be  the  last  dose  of  calomel. 
About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  fever  re- 
mitted, and  a  copious  perspiration  came  on ;  there 
was  no  more  headache,  nor  thirst,  nor  pain  in  the 
back,  and  the  following  night  was  comparatively 
a  good  one.  The  next  morning  I  swallowed  a 
large  dose  of  castor  oil :  it  was  genuine,  for  Louisa 
Backer  had  made  it  from  the  seeds  of  the  trees 
which  grew  near  the  door.  I  was  now  entirely 
free  from  all  symptoms  of  fever,  or  apprehensions 
of  a  return;  and  the  morning  after  I  began  to 
take  bark,  and  continued  it  for  a  fortnight.  This 
put  all  to  rights. 

The  story  of  the  wound  I  got  in  the  forest,  and 
the  mode  of  cure,  are  very  short. — I  had  pursued 
a  red-headed  woodpecker  for  above  a  mile  in  the 
forest,  without  being  able  to  get  a  shot  at  it. 
Thinking  more  of  the  woodpecker,  as  I  ran  along, 


174    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

than  of  the  way  before  me,  I  trod  upon  a  little 
hardwood  stump,  which  was  just  about  an  inch 
or  so  above  the  ground ;  it  entered  the  hollow  part 
of  my  foot,  making  a  deep  and  lacerated  wound 
there.  It  had  brought  me  to  the  ground,  and 
there  I  lay  till  a  transitory  fit  of  sickness  went 
off.  I  allowed  it  to  bleed  freely,  and  on  reaching 
head-quarters,  washed  it  well  and  probed  it,  to 
feel  if  any  foreign  body  was  left  within  it.  Being 
satisfied  that  there  was  none,  I  brought  the  edges 
of  the  wound  together,  and  then  put  a  piece  of  lint 
on  it,  and  over  that  a  very  large  poultice,  which 
was  changed  morning,  noon,  and  night.  Luckily, 
Backer  had  a  cow  or  two  upon  the  hill:  now  as 
heat  and  moisture  are  the  two  principal  virtues 
of  a  poultice,  nothing  could  produce  those  two 
qualities  better  than  fresh  cow-dung  boiled:  had 
there  been  no  cows  there,  I  could  have  made  it 
with  boiled  grass  and  leaves.  I  now  took  entirely 
to  the  hammock,  placing  the  foot  higher  than  the 
knee;  this  prevented  it  from  throbbing,  and  was, 
indeed,  the  only  position  in  which  I  could  be  at 
ease.  When  the  inflammation  was  completely 
subdued,  I  applied  a  wet  cloth  to  the  wound,  and 
every  now  and  then  steeped  the  foot  in  cold 
water  during  the  day,  and  at  night  again  applied 
a  poultice.  The  wound  was  now  healing  fast, 
and  in  three  weeks  from  the  time  of  the  accident, 
nothing  but  a  scar  remained;  so  that  I  again 
sallied  forth  sound  and  joyful,  and  said  to  my- 
self— 

"I,  pedes,  quo  te  rapiunt  et  auras 
Dum  favet  sol,  et  locus,  i  secundo 
Omine,  et  conto  latebras,  ut  olim, 

Eumpe   f erarum. '  * 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    175 

Now,  this  contus  was  a  tough,  light  pole,  eight 
feet  long,  on  the  end  of  which  was  fixed  an  old 
bayonet.  I  never  went  into  the  canoe  without  it ; 
it  was  of  great  use  in  starting  tlie  beasts  and 
snakes  out  of  the  hollow  trees,  and,  in  case  of 
need,  was  an  excellent  defence. 

In  1819,  I  had  the  last  conversation  with  Sir 
Joseph  Banks.  I  saw  with  sorrow  that  death  was 
going  to  rob  us  of  him.  We  talked  much  of  the 
present  mode  adopted  by  all  museums  in  stuffing 
quadrupeds,  and  condemned  it  as  being  very  im- 
perfect: still  we  could  not  find  out  a  better  way; 
and  at  last  concluded,  that  the  lips  and  nose  ought 
to  be  cut  off,  and  replaced  with  wax;  it  being  im- 
possible to  make  those  parts  appear  like  life,  as 
they  shrink  to  nothing,  and  render  the  stuffed 
specimens  in  the  different  museums  horrible  to 
look  at.  The  defects  in  the  legs  and  feet  would 
not  be  quite  so  glaring,  being  covered  with  hair. 

I  had  paid  great  attention  to  this  subject  for 
above  fourteen  years ;  still  it  would  not  do ;  how- 
ever, one  night  while  I  was  lying  in  the  hammock, 
and  harping  on  the  string  on  which  hung  all  my 
solicitude,  I  hit  upon  the  proper  mode  by  in- 
ference; it  appeared  clear  to  me  that  it  was  the 
only  true  way  of  going  to  work,  and  ere  I  closed 
my  eyes  in  sleep,  I  was  able  to  prove  to  myself 
that  there  could  not  be  any  other  way  that  would 
answer.  I  tried  it  the  next  day,  and  succeeded 
according  to  expectation. 

By  means  of  this  process,  which  is  very  simple, 
we  can  now  give  every  feature  back  again  to  the 
animal's  face,  after  it  has  been  skinned;  and 
when  necessary,  stamp  grief,  or  pain,  or  pleasure, 


176    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

or  rage,  or  mildness  upon  it.  But  more  of  this 
hereafter. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  Sloth, 
whose  native  haunts  have  hitherto  been  so  little 
known,  and  probably  little  looked  into.  Those 
who  have  written  on  this  singular  animal,  have 
remarked  that  he  is  in  a  perpetual  state  of  pain, 
that  he  is  proverbially  slow  in  his  movements, 
that  he  is  a  prisoner  in  space,  and  that  as  soon 
as  he  has  consumed  all  the  leaves  of  the  tree  upon 
which  he  had  mounted,  he  rolls  himself  up  in  the 
form  of  a  ball,  and  then  falls  to  the  ground.  This 
is  not  the  case. 

If  the  naturalists  who  have  written  the  history 
of  the  sloth  had  gone  into  the  wilds,  in  order  to 
examine  his  haunts  and  economy,  they  would  not 
have  drawn  the  foregoing  conclusions ;  they  would 
have  learned,  that  though  all  other  quadrupeds 
may  be  described  while  resting  upon  the  ground, 
the  sloth  is  an  exception  to  this  rule,  and  that 
his  history  must  be  written  while  he  is  in  the  tree. 

This  singular  animal  is  destined  by  nature  to 
be  produced,  to  live  and  to  die  in  the  trees;  and 
to  do  justice  to  him,  naturalists  must  examine  him 
in  this  his  upper  element.  He  is  a  scarce  and 
solitary  animal,  and  being  good  food,  he  is  never 
allowed  to  escape.  He  inhabits  remote  and 
gloomy  forests,  where  snakes  take  up  their  abode, 
and  where  cruelly  stinging  ants  and  scorpions, 
and  swamps,  and  innumerable  thorny  shrubs  and 
bushes,  obstruct  the  steps  of  civilized  man.  Were 
you  to  draw  your  own  conclusions  from  the  de- 
scriptions which  have  been  given  of  the  sloth, 
you  would  probably  suspect,  that  no  naturalist 


/Aij^ /ill  I 
The  Sloth 


<ErtS£L£.ti .  ihWfcif eci  iiifiL 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     177 

has  actually  gone  into  the  wilds  with  the  fixed 
determination  to  find  him  out  and  examine  his 
haunts  and  see  whether  nature  has  committed  any 
blunder  in  the  formation  of  this  extraordinary 
creature,  which  appears  to  us  so  forlorn  and 
miserable,  so  ill  put  together,  and  so  totally  unfit 
to  enjoy  the  blessings  which  have  been  so  boun- 
tifully given  to  the  rest  of  animated  nature;  for, 
as  it  has  formerly  been  remarked,  he  has  no  soles 
to  his  feet,  and  he  is  evidently  ill  at  ease  when  he 
tries  to  move  on  the  ground,  and  it  is  then  that  he 
looks  up  in  your  face  with  a  countenance  that 
says,  "Have  pity  on  me,  for  I  am  in  pain  and 
sorrow." 

It  mostly  happens  that  Indians  and  Negroes 
are  the  people  who  catch  the  sloth,  and  bring  it 
to  the  white  man:  hence  it  may  be  conjectured 
that  the  erroneous  accounts  we  have  hitherto  had 
of  the  sloth,  have  not  been  penned  down  with  the 
slightest  intention  to  mislead  the  reader,  or  give 
him  an  exaggerated  history,  but  that  these  errors 
have  naturally  arisen  by  examining  the  sloth  in 
those  places  where  nature  never  intended  that  he 
should  be  exhibited. 

However,  we  are  now  in  his  own  domain.  Man 
but  little  frequents  these  thick  and  noble  forests, 
which  extend  far  and  wide  on  every  side  of  us. 
This,  then,  is  the  proper  place  to  go  in  quest  of 
the  sloth.  We  will  first  take  a  near  view  of  him. 
By  obtaining  a  knowledge  of  his  anatomy,  we 
shall  be  enabled  to  account  for  his  movements 
hereafter,  when  we  see  him  in  his  proper  haunts. 
His  fore-legs,  or,  more  correctly  speaking,  his 
arms,  are  apparently  much  too  long,  while  his 

12 


178    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

hind-legs  are  very  sliort,  and  look  as  if  they 
could  be  bent  almost  to  the  shape  of  a  corkscrew. 
Both  the  fore  and  hind  legs,  by  their  form,  and 
by  the  manner  in  which  they  are  joined  to  the 
body,  are  quite  incapacitated  from  acting  in  a 
perpendicular  direction,  or  in  supporting  it  on 
the  earth,  as  the  bodies  of  other  quadrupeds  are 
supported,  by  their  legs.  Hence,  when  you  place 
him  on  the  floor,  his  belly  touches  the  ground. 
Now,  granted  that  he  supported  himself  on  his 
legs  like  other  animals,  nevertheless  he  would  be 
in  pain,  for  he  has  no  soles  to  his  feet,  and  his 
claws  are  very  sharp  and  long,  and  curved;  so 
that,  were  his  body  supported  by  his  feet  it  would 
be  by  their  extremities,  just  as  your  body  would 
be,  were  you  to  throw  yourself  on  all  fours,  and 
try  to  support  it  on  the  ends  of  your  toes  and 
fingers — a  trying  position.  Were  the  floor  of 
glass,  or  of  a  polished  surface,  the  sloth  would 
actually  be  quite  stationary ;  but  as  the  ground  is 
generally  rough,  with  little  protuberances  upon 
it,  such  as  stones,  or  roots  of  grass,  &c.,  this  just 
suits  the  sloth,  and  he  moves  his  fore-legs  in  all 
directions,  in  order  to  find  something  to  lay  hold 
of;  and  when  he  has  succeeded,  he  pulls  himself 
forward,  and  is  thus  enabled  to  travel  onwards, 
but  at  the  same  time  in  so  tardy  and  awkward  a 
manner,  as  to  acquire  him  the  name  of  Sloth. 

Indeed  his  looks  and  his  gestures  evidently 
betray  his  uncomfortable  situation ;  and  as  a  sigh 
every  now  and  then  escapes  him,  we  may  be  en- 
titled to  conclude  that  he  is  actually  in  pain. 

Some  years  ago  I  kept  a  sloth  in  my  room  for 
several  months.    I  often  took  him  out  of  the  house 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    179 

and  placed  him  upon  the  ground,  in  order  to  have 
an  opportunity  of  observing  his  motions.  If  the 
ground  were  rough,  he  would  pull  himself  for- 
wards, by  means  of  his  fore-legs,  at  a  pretty  good 
pace;  and  he  invariably  immediately  shaped  his 
course  towards  the  nearest  tree.  But  if  I  put  him 
upon  a  smooth  and  well-trodden  part  of  the  road, 
he  appeared  to  be  in  trouble  and  distress:  his 
favourite  abode  was  the  back  of  a  chair :  and  after 
getting  all  his  legs  in  a  line  upon  the  topmost 
part  of  it,  he  would  hang  there  for  hours  together, 
and  often  with  a  low  and  inward  cry,  would  seem 
to  invite  me  to  take  notice  of  him. 

The  sloth,  in  its  wild  state,  spends  its  whole 
life  in  trees,  and  never  leaves  them  but  through 
force  or  by  accident.  An  all-ruling  Providence  has 
ordered  man  to  tread  on  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
the  eagle  to  soar  in  the  expanse  of  the  skies, 
and  the  monkey  and  squirrel  to  inhabit  the 
trees :  still  these  may  change  their  relative  situa- 
tions without  feeling  much  inconvenience :  but  the 
sloth  is  doomed  to  spend  his  whole  life  in  the 
trees;  and,  what  is  more  extraordinary,  not  upon 
the  branches,  like  the  squirrel  and  the  monkey, 
but  under  them.  He  moves  suspended  from  the 
branch,  he  rests  suspended  from  it,  and  he  sleeps 
suspended  from  it.  To  enable  him  to  do  this,  he 
must  have  a  very  different  formation  from  that 
of  any  other  known  quadruped. 

Hence  his  seemingly  bungled  conformation  is 
at  once  accounted  for;  and  in  lieu  of  the  sloth 
leading  a  painful  life  and  entailing  a  melancholy 
and  miserable  existence  on  its  progeny,  it  is  but 
fair  to  surmise  that  it  just  enjoys  life  as  much 


180     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

as  any  other  animal,  and  that  its  extraordinary 
formation  and  singular  habits  are  but  further 
proofs  to  engage  us  to  admire  the  wonderful 
works  of  Omnipotence. 

It  must  be  observed,  that  the  sloth  does  not 
hang  head-downwards  like  the  vampire.  When 
asleep,  he  supports  himself  from  a  branch  parallel 
to  the  earth.  He  first  seizes  the  branch  with  one 
arm,  and  then  with  the  other;  and  after  that, 
brings  up  both  his  legs,  one  by  one,  to  the  same 
branch;  so  that  all  four  are  in  a  line:  he  seems 
perfectly  at  rest  in  this  position.  Now,  had  he  a 
tail,  he  would  be  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  do  with 
it  in  this  position:  were  he  to  draw  it  up  within 
his  legs,  it  would  interfere  with  them;  and  were 
he  to  let  it  hang  down,  it  would  become  the  sport 
of  the  winds.  Thus  his  deficiency  of  tail  is  a 
benefit  to  him ;  it  is  merely  an  apology  for  a  tail, 
scarcely  exceeding  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length. 

I  observed,  when  he  was  climbing,  he  never 
used  his  arms  both  together,  but  first  one  and 
then  the  other,  and  so  on  alternately.  There  is  a 
singularity  in  his  hair,  different  from  that  of  all 
other  animals,  and,  I  believe,  hitherto  unnoticed 
by  naturalists ;  his  hair  is  thick  and  coarse  at  the 
extremity,  and  gradually  tapers  to  the  root, 
where  it  becomes  fine  as  a  spider's  web.  His  fur 
has  so  much  the  hue  of  the  moss  which  grows  on 
the  branches  of  the  trees,  that  it  is  very  difficult 
to  make  him  out  when  he  is  at  rest. 

The  male  of  the  three-toed  sloth  has  a  longi- 
tudinal bar  of  very  fine  black  hair  on  his  back, 
rather  lower  than  the  shoulder-blades;  on  each 
side  of  this  black  bar  there  is  a  space  of  yellow 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     181 

hair,  equally  fine ;  it  has  the  appearance  of  being 
pressed  into  the  body,  and  looks  exactly  as  if  it  had 
been  singed.  If  we  examine  the  anatomy  of  his 
fore-legs,  we  shall  immediately  perceive  by  their 
firm  and  muscular  texture,  how  very  capable  they 
are  of  supporting  the  pendent  weight  of  his  body, 
both  in  climbing  and  at  rest;  and,  instead  of 
pronouncing  them  a  bungled  composition,  as  a 
celebrated  naturalist  has  done,  we  shall  consider 
them  as  remarkably  well  calculated  to  perform 
their  extraordinary  functions. 

As  the  sloth  is  an  inhabitant  of  forests  within 
the  tropics,  where  the  trees  touch  each  other  in 
the  greatest  profusion,  there  seems  to  be  no  rea- 
son why  he  should  confine  himself  to  one  tree 
alone  for  food,  and  entirely  strip  it  of  its  leaves. 
During  the  many  years  I  have  ranged  the  forests, 
I  have  never  seen  a  tree  in  such  a  state  of  nudity ; 
indeed,  I  would  hazard  a  conjecture,  that,  by  the 
time  the  animal  had  finished  the  last  of  the  old 
leaves,  there  would  be  a  new  crop  on  the  part  of 
the  tree  he  had  stripped  first,  ready  for  him  to  be- 
gin again,  so  quick  is  the  process  of  vegetation 
in  these  countries. 

There  is  a  saying  amongst  the  Indians,  that 
when  the  wind  blows,  the  sloth  begins  to  travel. 
In  calm  weather  he  remains  tranquil,  probably 
not  liking  to  cling  to  the  brittle  extremity  of  the 
branches,  lest  they  should  break  with  him  in  pass- 
ing from  one  tree  to  another;  but  as  soon  as  the 
wind  rises,  the  branches  of  the  neighbouring 
trees  become  interwoven,  and  then  the  sloth  seizes 
hold  of  them,  and  pursues  his  journey  in  safety. 
There  is  seldom  an  entire  day  of  calm  in  these 


182    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

forests.  The  trade-wind  generally  sets  in  about 
ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  thus  the  sloth 
may  set  off  after  breakfast,  and  get  a  considerable 
way  before  dinner.  He  travels  at  a  good  round 
pace;  and  were  you  to  see  him  pass  from  tree  to 
tree,  as  I  have  done,  you  would  never  think  of  call- 
ing him  a  sloth. 

Thus,  it  would  appear  that  the  different  his- 
tories we  have  of  this  quadruped  are  erroneous 
on  two  accounts:  first,  that  the  writers  of  them, 
deterred  by  difficulties  and  local  annoyances,  have 
not  paid  sufficient  attention  to  him  in  his  native 
haunts;  and  secondly,  they  have  described  him 
in  a  situation  in  which  he  was  never  intended  by 
nature  to  cut  a  figure;  I  mean  on  the  ground. 
The  sloth  is  as  much  at  a  loss  to  proceed  on  his 
journey  upon  a  smooth  and  level  floor,  as  a  man 
would  be  who  had  to  walk  a  mile  in  stilts  upon  a 
line  of  feather  beds. 

One  day,  as  we  were  crossing  the  Essequibo,  I 
saw  a  large  two-toed  sloth  on  the  ground  upon  the 
bank ;  how  he  had  got  there  nobody  could  tell : 
the  Indian  said  he  had  never  surprised  a  sloth 
in  such  a  situation  before :  he  would  hardly  have 
come  there  to  drink,  for  both  above  and  below  the 
place,  the  branches  of  the  trees  touched  the  water, 
and  afforded  him  an  easy  and  safe  access  to  it. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  though  the  trees  were  not  above 
twenty  yards  from  him,  he  could  not  make  his  way 
through  the  sand  in  time  enough  to  escape  before 
we  landed.  As  soon  as  we  got  up  to  him  he  threw 
himself  upon  his  back,  and  defended  himself  in 
gallant  style  with  his  fore-legs.  ''Come,  poor 
fellow,"  said  I  to  him,  "if  thou  hast  got  into  a 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     183 

hobble  to-day,  thou  shalt  not  suffer  for  it :  I'll  take 
no  advantage  of  thee  in  misfortune;  the  forest 
is  large  enough  both  for  thee  and  me  to  rove  in: 
go  thy  ways  up  above,  and  enjoy  thyself  in  these 
endless  wilds;  it  is  more  than  probable  thou  wilt 
never  have  another  interview  with  man.  So  fare 
thee  well."  On  saying  this,  I  took  a  long  stick 
which  was  lying  there,  held  it  for  him  to  hook  on, 
and  then  conveyed  him  to  a  high  and  stately  mora. 
He  ascended  with  wonderful  rapidity,  and  in 
about  a  minute  he  was  almost  at  the  top  of  the 
tree.  He  now  went  off  in  a  side  direction,  and 
caught  hold  of  the  branch  of  a  neighbouring  tree ; 
he  then  proceeded  towards  the  heart  of  the  forest. 
I  stood  looking  on,  lost  in  amazement  at  liis  singu- 
lar mode  of  progress.  I  followed  him  with  my  eye 
till  the  intervening  branches  closed  in  betwixt  us ; 
and  then  I  lost  sight  for  ever  of  the  two-toed 
sloth.  I  was  going  to  add,  that  I  never  saw  a 
sloth  take  to  his  heels  in  such  earnest;  but  the 
expression  will  not  do,  for  the  sloth  has  no  heels. 

That  which  naturalists  have  advanced  of  his 
being  so  tenacious  of  life  is  perfectly  true.  I  saw 
the  heart  of  one  beat  for  half  an  hour  after  it  was 
taken  out  of  the  body.  The  wourali-poison  seems 
to  be  the  only  thing  that  will  kill  it  quickly.  On 
reference  to  a  former  part  of  these  wanderings, 
it  will  be  seen  that  a  poisoned  arrow  killed  the 
sloth  in  about  ten  minutes. 

So  much  for  this  harmless,  unoffending  ani- 
mal. He  holds  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  cata- 
logue of  the  animals  of  the  new  world.  Though 
naturalists  have  made  no  mention  of  what  fol- 
lows, still  it  is  not  less  true  on  that  account.    The 


184    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

sloth  is  the  only  quadruped  known,  which  spends 
its  whole  life  from  the  branch  of  a  tree,  suspended 
by  his  feet.  I  have  paid  uncommon  attention  to 
him  in  his  native  haunts.  The  monkey  and  squir- 
rel will  seize  a  branch  with  their  fore-feet,  and 
pull  themselves  up,  and  rest  or  run  upon  it;  but 
the  sloth,  after  seizing  it,  still  remains  suspended, 
and  suspended  moves  along  under  the  branch,  till 
he  can  lay  hold  of  another.  Whenever  I  have  seen 
him  in  his  native  woods,  whether  at  rest,  or  asleep, 
or  on  his  travels,  I  have  always  observed  that  he 
was  suspended  from  the  branch  of  a  tree.  When 
his  form  and  anatomy  are  attentively  considered, 
it  will  appear  evident  that  the  sloth  cannot  be  at 
ease  in  any  situation,  where  his  body  is  higher, 
or  above  his  feet.  We  will  now  take  our  leave 
of  him. 

In  the  far-extending  wilds  of  Guiana,  the  trav- 
eller will  be  astonished  at  the  immense  quantity 
of  Ants  which  he  perceives  on  the  ground  and  in 
the  trees.  They  have  nests  in  the  branches,  four 
or  five  times  as  large  as  that  of  the  rook;  and 
they  have  a  covered  way  from  them  to  the  ground. 
In  this  covered  way  thousands  are  perpetually 
passing  and  repassing;  and  if  you  destroy  part 
of  it,  they  turn  to,  and  immediately  repair  it. 

Other  species  of  ants  again  have  no  covered 
way;  but  travel,  exposed  to  view,  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth.  You  will  sometimes  see  a  string 
of  these  ants  a  mile  long,  each  carrying  in  its 
mouth  to  its  nest  a  green  leaf,  the  size  of  a  six- 
pence. It  is  wonderful  to  observe  the  order  in 
which  they  move,  and  with  what  pains  and  labour 
they  surmount  the  obstructions  of  the  path. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     185 

The  ants  have  their  enemies,  as  well  as  the  rest 
of  animated  nature.  Amongst  the  foremost  of 
these  stand  the  three  species  of  Ant-bears.  The 
smallest  is  not  much  larger  than  a  rat;  the  next 
is  nearly  the  size  of  a  fox;  and  the  third  a  stout 
and  powerful  animal,  measuring  about  six  feet 
from  the  snout  to  the  end  of  the  tail.  He  is  the 
most  inoffensive  of  all  animals,  and  never  injures 
the  property  of  man.  He  is  chiefly  found  in  the 
inmost  recesses  of  the  forest,  and  seems  partial 
to  the  low  and  swampy  parts  near  creeks,  where 
the  troely-tree  grows.  There  he  goes  up  and  down 
in  quest  of  ants,  of  which  there  is  never  the  least 
scarcity ;  so  that  he  soon  obtains  a  sufficient  sup- 
ply of  food,  with  very  little  trouble.  He  cannot 
travel  fast;  man  is  superior  to  him  in  speed. 
Without  swiftness  to  enable  him  to  escape  from 
his  enemies,  without  teeth,  the  possession  of  which 
would  assist  him  in  self-defence,  and  without  the 
power  of  burrowing  in  the  ground,  by  which  he 
might  conceal  himself  from  his  pursuers,  he  still 
is  capable  of  ranging  through  these  wilds  in  per- 
fect safety;  nor  does  he  fear  the  fatal  pressure 
of  the  serpent's  fold,  or  the  teeth  of  the  famished 
jaguar.  Nature  has  formed  his  fore-legs  wonder- 
fully thick,  and  strong,  and  muscular,  and  armed 
his  feet  with  three  tremendous  sharp  and  crooked 
claws.  Whenever  he  seizes  an  animal  with  these 
formidable  weapons,  he  hugs  it  close  to  his  body, 
and  keeps  it  there  till  it  dies  through  pressure, 
or  through  want  of  food.  Nor  does  the  ant-bear, 
in  the  meantime,  suffer  much  from  loss  of  aliment, 
as  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  he  can  go  longer 
without  food  than,  perhaps,  any  other  animal,  ex- 


186    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

cept  the  land-tortoise.  His  skin  is  of  a  texture 
that  perfectly  resists  the  bite  of  a  dog ;  his  hinder 
parts  are  protected  by  thick  and  shaggy  hair, 
while  his  immense  tail  is  large  enough  to  cover  his 
whole  body. 

The  Indians  have  a  great  dread  of  coming  in 
contact  with  the  ant-bear;  and  after  disabling 
him  in  the  chase,  never  think  of  approaching  him 
till  he  be  quite  dead.  It  is  perhaps  on  account  of 
this  caution,  that  naturalists  have  never  yet  given 
to  the  world  a  true  and  correct  drawing  of  this 
singular  animal,  or  described  the  peculiar  posi- 
tion of  his  fore-feet  when  he  walks  or  stands.  If, 
in  taking  a  drawing  from  a  dead  ant-bear,  you 
judge  of  the  position  in  which  he  stands  from  that 
of  all  other  terrestrial  animals,  the  sloth  excepted, 
you  will  be  in  error.  Examine  only  a  figure  of 
this  animal,  in  books  of  natural  history,  or  inspect 
a  stuffed  specimen  in  the  best  museums,  and  you 
will  see  that  the  fore-claws  are  just  in  the  same 
forward  attitude  as  those  of  a  dog,  or  a  common 
bear  when  he  walks  or  stands.  But  this  is  a  dis- 
torted and  unnatural  position ;  and  in  life,  would 
be  a  painful  and  intolerable  attitude  for  the  ant- 
bear.  The  length  and  curve  of  his  claws  cannot 
admit  of  such  a  position.  When  he  walks  or 
stands,  his  feet  have  somewhat  the  appearance  of 
a  club-hand.  He  goes  entirely  on  the  outer  side 
of  his  fore-feet,  which  are  quite  bent  inwards ;  the 
claws  collected  into  a  point,  and  going  under  the 
foot.  In  this  position  he  is  quite  at  ease;  while 
his  long  claws  are  disposed  of  in  a  manner  to  ren- 
der them  harmless  to  him,  and  are  prevented  from 
becoming  dull  and  worn,  like  those  of  the  dog, 


The  Ant-bear  is  a  pacific  Animal" 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    187 

which  would  inevitably  be  the  case,  did  their 
points  come  in  actual  contact  with  the  ground ;  for 
his  claws  have  not  that  retractile  power  which  is 
given  to  animals  of  the  feline  species  by  which 
they  are  enabled  to  preserve  the  sharpness  of 
their  claws  on  the  most  flinty  path.  A  slight  in- 
spection of  the  fore-feet  of  the  ant-bear,  will  im- 
mediately convince  you  of  the  mistake  artists  and 
naturalists  have  fallen  into,  by  putting  his  fore- 
feet in  the  same  position  as  those  of  other  quad- 
rupeds ;  for  you  will  perceive  that  the  whole  outer 
side  of  his  foot  is  not  only  deprived  of  hair,  but 
is  hard  and  callous ;  proof  positive  of  its  being  in 
perpetual  contact  with  the  ground.  Now,  on  the 
contrary,  the  inner  side  of  the  bottom  of  his  foot 
is  soft  and  rather  hairy. 

There  is  another  singularity  in  the  anatomy  of 
the  ant-bear,  I  believe,  as  yet  unnoticed  in  the 
page  of  natural  history.  He  has  two  very  large 
glands  situated  below  the  root  of  the  tongue. 
From  these  is  emitted  a  glutinous  liquid,  with 
which  his  long  tongue  is  lubricated  when  he  puts 
it  into  the  ants'  nests.  These  glands  are  of  the 
same  substance  as  those  found  in  the  lower  jaw  of 
the  woodpecker.  The  secretion  from  them,  when 
wet,  is  very  clammy  and  adhesive,  but  on  being 
dried  it  loses  these  qualities,  and  you  can  pul- 
verize it  betwixt  your  finger  and  thumb ;  so  that, 
in  dissection,  if  any  of  it  has  got  upon  the  fur  of 
the  animal,  or  the  feathers  of  the  bird,  allow  it  to 
dry  there,  and  then  it  may  be  removed  without 
leaving  the  least  stain  behind. 

The  ant-bear  is  a  pacific  animal.  He  is  never 
the  first  to  begin  the  attack.    His  motto  may  be, 


188     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

**Noli  me  tangere."  As  his  habits  and  his  haunts 
differ  materially  from  those  of  every  other  ani- 
mal in  the  forest,  their  interests  never  clash,  and 
thus  he  might  live  to  a  good  old  age,  and  die  at 
last  in  peace,  were  it  not  that  his  flesh  is  good 
food.  On  this  account  the  Indian  wages  per- 
petual war  against  him,  and  as  he  cannot  escape 
by  flight,  he  falls  an  easy  prey  to  the  poisoned 
arrow,  shot  from  the  Indian's  bow  at  a  distance. 
If  ever  he  be  closely  attacked  by  dogs,  he  immedi- 
ately throws  himself  on  his  back,  and  if  he  be 
fortunate  enough  to  catch  hold  of  his  enemy  with 
his  tremendous  claws,  the  invader  is  sure  to  pay 
for  his  rashness  with  the  loss  of  life. 

We  will  now  take  a  view  of  the  vampire.  As 
there  was  a  free  entrance  and  exit  to  the  vampire 
in  the  loft  where  I  slept,  I  had  many  a  fine  oppor- 
tunity of  paying  attention  to  this  nocturnal  sur- 
geon. He  does  not  always  live  on  blood.  When 
the  moon  shone  bright,  and  the  fruit  of  the  banana- 
tree  was  ripe,  I  could  see  him  approach  and  eat  it. 
He  would  also  bring  into  the  loft,  from  the  for- 
est, a  green  round  fruit,  something  like  the  wild 
guava,  and  about  the  size  of  a  nutmeg.  There 
was  something  also,  in  the  blossom  of  the  sawarri 
nut-tree,  which  was  grateful  to  him ;  for  on  com- 
ing up  Waratilla  creek,  in  a  moonlight  night,  I 
saw  several  vampires  fluttering  round  the  top  of 
the  sawarri  tree,  and  every  now  and  then  the 
blossoms,  which  they  had  broken  off,  fell  into  the 
water.  They  certainly  did  not  drop  off  naturally, 
for  on  examining  several  of  them,  they  appeared 
quite  fresh  and  blooming.  So  I  concluded  the 
vampires  pulled  them  from  the  tree,  either  to  get 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    189 

at  the  incipient  fruit,  or  to  catcli  tlie  insects  which 
often  take  up  their  abode  in  flowers. 

The  vampire,  in  general,  measures  about  twen- 
six  inches  from  wing  to  wing,  extended,  though 
I  once  killed  one  which  measured  thirty- two 
inches.  He  frequents  old  abandoned  houses  and 
hollow  trees;  and  sometimes  a  cluster  of  them 
may  be  seen  in  the  forest  hanging  head  down- 
wards, from  the  branch  of  a  tree. 

Goldsmith  seems  to  have  been  aware  that  the 
vampire  hangs  in  clusters;  for  in  the  Deserted 
Village,  speaking  of  America,  he  says, — 

' '  And  matted  woods,  where  birds  forget  to  sing, 
But  silent  bats  in  drowsy  clusters  cling." 

The  vampire  has  a  curious  membrane,  which 
rises  from  the  nose,  and  gives  it  a  very  singular 
appearance.  It  has  been  remarked  before,  that 
there  are  two  species  of  vampire  in  Guiana,  a 
larger  and  a  smaller.  The  larger  sucks  men  and 
other  animals ;  the  smaller  seems  to  confine  him- 
self chiefly  to  birds.  I  learnt  from  a  gentleman, 
high  up  in  the  river  Demerara,  that  he  was  com- 
pletely unsuccessful  with  his  fowls,  on  account 
of  the  small  vampire.  He  showed  me  some  tliat 
had  been  sucked  the  night  before,  and  they  were 
scarcely  able  to  walk. 

Some  years  ago  I  went  to  the  river  Paumaron 
with  a  Scotch  gentleman,  by  name  Tarbet.  We 
hung  our  hammocks  in  the  thatched  loft  of  a 
planter's  house.  Next  morning  I  heard  this  gen- 
tleman muttering  in  his  hammock,  and  now  and 
then  letting  fall  an  imprecation  or  two,  just  about 
the  time  he  ought  to  have  been  saying  his  morn- 


190    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

ing  prayers.  ''What  is  the  matter,  Sir,"  said 
I,  softly;  "is  any  thing  amiss?"  ''What's  the 
matter?"  answered  he,  surlily;  "why,  the  vam- 
pires have  been  sucking  me  to  death."  As  soon 
as  there  was  light  enough,  I  went  to  his  hammock, 
and  saw  it  much  stained  with  blood.  "There," 
said  he,  thrusting  his  foot  out  of  the  hammock, 
"see  how  these  infernal  imps  have  been  drawing 
my  life's  blood."  On  examining  his  foot,  I  found 
the  vampire  had  tapped  his  great  toe :  there  was 
a  wound  somewhat  less  than  that  made  by  a  leech ; 
the  blood  was  still  oozing  from  it ;  I  conjectured 
he  might  have  lost  from  ten  to  twelve  ounces  of 
blood.  Whilst  examining  it,  I  think  I  put  him  into 
a  worse  humour  by  remarking,  that  an  European 
surgeon  would  not  have  been  so  generous  as  to 
have  blooded  him  without  making  a  charge.  He 
looked  up  in  my  face,  but  did  not  say  a  word:  I 
saw  he  was  of  opinion  that  I  had  better  have 
spared  this  piece  of  ill-timed  levity. 

It  was  not  the  last  punishment  of  this  good  gen- 
tleman in  the  river  Paumaron.  The  next  night 
he  was  doomed  to  undergo  a  kind  of  ordeal  un- 
known in  Europe.  There  is  a  species  of  large  red 
ant  in  Guiana,  sometimes  called  Eanger,  some- 
times Coushie.  These  ants  march  in  millions 
through  the  country,  in  compact  order,  like  a  regi- 
ment of  soldiers ;  they  eat  up  every  insect  in  their 
march;  and  if  a  house  obstruct  their  route,  they 
do  not  turn  out  of  the  way,  but  go  quite  through 
it.  Though  they  sting  cruelly  when  molested,  the 
planter  is  not  sorry  to  see  them  in  his  house;  for 
it  is  but  a  passing  visit,  and  they  destroy  every 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     191 

kind  of  insect  vermin  that  has  taken  shelter  under 
his  roof. 

Now,  in  the  British  plantations  of  Guiana,  as 
well  as  in  Europe,  there  is  always  a  little  temple 
dedicated  to  the  goddess  Cloacina.  Our  dinner 
had  chiefly  consisted  of  crabs,  dressed  in  rich 
and  different  ways.  Paumaron  is  famous  for 
crabs,  and  strangers  who  go  thither  consider  them 
the  greatest  luxury.  The  Scotch  gentleman  made 
a  very  capital  dinner  on  crabs ;  but  this  change  of 
diet  was  productive  of  unpleasant  circumstances : 
he  awoke  in  the  night  in  that  state  in  which  Virgil 
describes  Caeleno  to  have  been,  viz.  '^fsedissima 
ventris  proluvies."  Up  he  got,  to  verify  the  re- 
mark, 

"Serius  aut  citius,  sedem  properamus  acl  unara." 

Now,  unluckily  for  himself,  and  the  nocturnal 
tranquility  of  the  planter's  house,  just  at  that  un- 
fortunate hour,  the  Coushie  Ants  were  passing 
across  the  seat  of  Cloacina 's  temple;  he  had 
never  dreamed  of  this;  and  so,  turning  his  face 
to  the  door,  he  placed  himself  in  the  usual  situa- 
tion which  the  votaries  of  the  goddess  generally 
take.  Had  a  lighted  match  dropped  upon  a  pound 
of  gunpowder,  as  he  afterwards  remarked,  it 
could  not  have  caused  a  greater  recoil.  Up  he 
jumped,  and  forced  his  way  out,  roaring  for  help 
and  for  a  light,  for  he  was  worried  alive  by  ten 
thousand  devils.  The  fact  is,  he  had  sat  down 
upon  an  intervening  body  of  coushie  ants.  Many 
of  those  which  escaped  being  crushed  to  death, 
turned  again,  and,  in  revenge,  stung  the  uninten- 
tional intruder  most  severely.  The  watchman  had 


192     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

fallen  asleep,  and  it  was  some  time  before  a  light 
could  be  procured,  the  fire  having  gone  out;  in 
the  mean  time,  the  poor  gentleman  was  suffering 
an  indescribable  martyrdom,  and  would  have 
found  himself  more  at  home  in  the  Augean  stable 
than  in  the  planter's  house. 

I  had  often  wished  to  have  been  once  sucked  by 
the  vampire,  in  order  that  I  might  have  it  in  my 
power  to  say  it  had  really  happened  to  me.  There 
can  be  no  pain  in  the  operation,  for  the  patient 
is  always  asleep  when  the  vampire  is  sucking  him ; 
and  as  for  the  loss  of  a  few  ounces  of  blood,  that 
would  be  a  trifle  in  the  long  run.  Many  a  night 
have  I  slept  with  my  foot  out  of  the  hammock  to 
tempt  this  winged  surgeon,  expecting  that  he 
would  be  there ;  but  it  was  all  in  vain ;  the  vam- 
pire never  sucked  me,  and  I  could  never  account 
for  his  not  doing  so,  for  we  were  inhabitants  of 
the  same  loft  for  months  together. 

The  armadillo  is  very  common  in  these  forests ; 
he  burrows  in  the  sand-hills  like  a  rabbit.  As  it 
often  takes  a  considerable  time  to  dig  him  out  of 
his  hole,  it  would  be  a  long  and  laborious  business 
to  attack  each  hole  indiscriminately  without  know- 
ing whether  the  animal  were  there  or  not.  To 
prevent  disappointment,  the  Indians  carefully  ex- 
amine the  mouth  of  the  hole,  and  put  a  short 
stick  down  it.  Now  if,  on  introducing  the  stick, 
a  number  of  mosquitos  come  out,  the  Indians 
know  to  a  certainty  that  the  armadillo  is  in  it: 
wherever  there  are  no  mosquitos  in  the  hole  there 
is  no  armadillo.  The  Indian  having  satisfied  him- 
self that  the  armadillo  is  there,  by  the  mosqui- 
tos which  come  out,  he  immediately  cuts  a  long 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     193 

and  slender  stick,  and  introduces  it  into  the  hole : 
he  carefully  observes  the  line  the  stick  takes,  and 
then  sinks  a  pit  in  the  sand  to  catch  the  end  of 
it :  this  done,  he  puts  it  farther  into  the  hole,  and 
digs  another  pit,  and  so  on,  till  at  last  he  comes 
up  with  the  armadillo,  which  had  been  making 
itself  a  passage  in  the  sand  till  it  had  ex- 
hausted all  its  strength  through  pure  exertion. 
I  have  been  sometimes  three  quarters  of  a  day 
in  digging  out  one  armadillo,  and  obliged  to  sink 
half  a  dozen  pits,  seven  feet  deep,  before  I  got  up 
to  it.  The  Indians  and  negroes  are  very  fond  of 
the  flesh,  but  I  considered  it  strong  and  rank. 

On  laying  hold  of  the  armadillo  you  must  be 
cautious  not  to  come  in  contact  with  his  feet :  they 
are  armed  with  sharp  claws,  and  with  them  he 
will  inflict  a  severe  wound  in  self-defence:  when 
not  molested,  he  is  very  harmless  and  innocent; 
he  would  put  you  in  mind  of  the  hare  in  Gay's 
fables, — 

"Whose  care  was  never  to  offend, 
And  every  creature  vpas  her  friend. ' ' 

The  armadillo  swims  well  in  time  of  need,  but 
does  not  go  into  the  water  by  choice.  He  is  very 
seldom  seen  abroad  during  the  day;  and  when 
surprised,  he  is  sure  to  be  near  the  mouth  of  his 
hole.  Every  part  of  the  armadillo  is  well  pro- 
tected by  his  shell,  except  his  ears.  In  life,  this 
shell  is  very  limber,  so  that  the  animal  is  enabled 
to  go  at  full  stretch,  or  roll  himself  up  into  a 
ball,  as  occasion  may  require. 

On  inspecting  the  arrangement  of  the  shell,  it 
puts  vou  very  much  in  mind  of  a  coat  of  armour ; 

13*^ 


194     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

indeed  it  is  a  natural  coat  of  armour  to  the  arma- 
dillo, and  being  composed  both  of  scale  and  bone, 
it  affords  ample  security,  and  has  a  pleasing  effect. 

Often,  when  roving  in  the  wilds,  I  would  fall 
in  with  the  Land  Tortoise ;  he  too  adds  another  to 
the  list  of  unoffending  animals ;  he  subsists  on  the 
fallen  fruits  of  the  forest.  When  an  enemy  ap- 
proaches he  never  thinks  of  moving,  but  quietly 
draws  himself  under  his  shell,  and  there  awaits 
his  doom  in  patience :  he  only  seems  to  have  two 
enemies  who  can  do  him  any  damage ;  one  of  these 
is  the  Boa  Constrictor:  this  snake  swallows  the 
tortoise  alive,  shell  and  all.  But  a  boa  large 
enough  to  do  this  is  very  scarce,  and  thus  there 
is  not  much  to  apprehend  from  that  quarter ;  the 
other  enemy  is  man,  who  takes  up  the  tortoise,  and 
carries  him  away.  Man  also  is  scarce  in  these 
never-ending  wilds,  and  the  little  depredations 
he  may  commit  upon  the  tortoise  will  be  nothing, 
or  a  mere  trifle.  The  tiger's  teeth  cannot  pene- 
trate its  shell,  nor  can  a  stroke  of  his  paws  do  it 
any  damage.  It  is  of  so  compact  and  strong  a 
nature,  that  there  is  a  common  saying,  a  London 
waggon  might  roll  over  it  and  not  break  it. 

Ere  we  proceed,  let  us  take  a  retrospective 
view  of  the  five  animals  just  enumerated;  they 
are  all  quadrupeds,  and  have  some  very  particu- 
lar mark,  or  mode  of  existence,  different  from  all 
other  animals.  The  sloth  has  four  feet,  but  never 
can  use  them,  to  support  his  body  on  the  earth; 
they  want  soles,  which  are  a  marked  feature  in 
the  feet  of  other  animals.  The  ant-bear  has  not 
a  tooth  in  his  head,  still  he  roves  fearless  on, 
in  the  same  forests  with  the  Jaguar  and  boa  con- 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     195 

stridor.  The  vampire  does  not  make  use  of  his 
feet  to  walk,  but  to  stretch  a  membrane,  which 
enables  him  to  go  up  into  an  element  where  no 
other  quadruped  is  seen.  The  armadillo  has  only 
here  and  there  a  straggling  hair,  and  has  neither 
fur,  nor  wool,  nor  bristles,  but  in  lieu  of  them 
has  received  a  movable  shell,  on  which  are  scales 
very  much  like  those  of  fishes.  The  tortoise  is 
oviparous,  entirely  without  any  appearance  of 
hair,  and  is  obliged  to  accommodate  itself  to  a 
shell  which  is  quite  hard  and  inflexible,  and  in  no 
point  of  view  whatever  obedient  to  the  will  or 
pleasure  of  the  bearer.  The  egg  of  the  tortoise 
has  a  very  hard  shell,  while  that  of  the  turtle  is 
quite  soft. 


CHAPTER  II 

In  some  parts  of  these  forests  I  saw  Vanilla 
growing  luxuriantly.  It  creeps  up  the  trees  to 
the  height  of  thirty  or  forty  feet.  I  found  it 
difficult  to  get  a  ripe  pod,  as  the  monkeys  are  very 
fond  of  it,  and  generally  took  care  to  get  there 
before  me.  The  pod  hangs  from  the  tree  in  the 
shape  of  a  little  scabbard.  Vayna  is  the  Spanish 
for  a  scabbard,  and  Vanilla  for  a  little  scabbard. 
Hence  the  name. 

In  Mibiri  creek  there  was  a  cayman  of  the  small 
species,  measuring  about  five  feet  in  length;  I 
saw  it  in  the  same  place  for  months,  but  could 
never  get  a  shot  at  it;  for  the  moment  I  thought 
I  was  sure  of  it,  it  dived  under  the  water  before 
I  could  pull  the  trigger.  At  last  I  got  an  Indian 
with  his  bow  and  arrow ;  he  stood  up  in  the  canoe 
with  his  bow  ready  bent,  and  as  we  drifted  past 
the  place,  he  sent  his  arrow  into  the  cayman's  eye 
and  killed  it  dead.  The  skin  of  this  little  species 
is  much  harder  and  stronger  than  that  of  the 
large  kind :  it  is  good  food,  and  tastes  like  veal. 

My  friend,  Mr.  Edmonstone,  had  very  kindly 
let  me  have  one  of  his  old  negroes,  and  he  con- 
stantly attended  me ;  his  name  was  Daddy  Quashi ; 
he  had  a  brave  stomach  for  heterogeneous  food; 
it  could  digest,  and  relish  too,  cayman,  monkeys, 
hawks,  and  grubs.  The  Daddy  made  three  or  four 
meals  on  this  cayman  while  it  was  not  absolutely 

196 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    197 

putrid,  and  salted  the  rest.  I  could  never  get  him 
to  face  a  snake ;  the  horror  he  betrayed  on  seeing 
one  was  beyond  description;  I  asked  him  why 
he  was  so  terribly  alarmed ;  he  said  it  was  by  see- 
ing so  many  dogs,  from  time  to  time,  killed  by 
them. 

Here  I  had  a  fine  opportunity  of  examining 
several  species  of  the  caprimulgus.  I  am  fully 
persuaded  that  these  innocent  little  birds  never 
suck  the  herds;  for  when  they  approach  them, 
and  jump  up  at  their  udders,  it  is  to  catch  the 
flies  and  insects  there.  When  the  moon  shone 
bright,  I  would  frequently  go  and  stand  within 
three  yards  of  a  cow,  and  distinctly  see  the  capri- 
mulgus catch  the  flies  on  its  udder.  On  looking 
for  them  in  the  forest,  during  the  day,  I  either 
found  them  on  the  ground,  or  else  invariably  sit- 
ting longitudinally  on  the  branch  of  a  tree,  not 
crosswise  like  all  other  birds. 

The  Wasps,  or  Maribuntas,  are  great  plagues 
in  these  forests,  and  require  the  naturalist  to  be 
cautious  as  he  wanders  up  and  down.  Some  make 
their  nests  pendent  from  the  branches;  others 
have  them  fixed  to  the  underside  of  a  leaf.  Now 
in  passing  on,  if  you  happen  to  disturb  one  of 
these,  they  sally  forth  and  punish  you  severely. 
The  largest  kind  is  blue;  it  brings  blood  where 
its  sting  enters,  and  causes  pain  and  inflammation 
enough  to  create  a  fever.  The  Indians  make  a 
fire  under  the  nest,  and  after  killing  or  driving 
away  the  old  ones,  they  roast  the  young  grubs  in 
the  comb  and  eat  them.  I  tried  them  once  by  way 
of  dessert  after  dinner,  but  my  stomach  was  of- 
fended at  their  intrusion;   probably  it  was  more 


198    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

the  idea  than  the  taste  that  caused  the  stomach  to 
rebel. 

Time  and  experience  have  convinced  me  that 
there  is  not  much  danger  in  roving  amongst 
snakes  and  wild  beasts,  provided  only  that  you 
have  self-command.  You  must  never  approach 
them  abruptly;  if  so,  you  are  sure  to  pay  for 
your  rashness;  because  the  idea  of  self-defence 
is  predominant  in  every  animal,  and  thus  the 
snake,  to  defend  himself  from  what  he  considers 
an  attack  upon  him,  makes  the  intruder  feel  the 
deadly  effect  of  his  poisonous  fangs.  The  jaguar 
flies  at  you  and  knocks  you  senseless  with  a 
stroke  of  his  paw:  whereas,  if  you  had  not  come 
upon  him  too  suddenly,  it  is  ten  to  one  but  that 
he  had  retired,  in  lieu  of  disputing  the  path  with 
you.  The  labarri  snake  is  very  poisonous,  and  I 
have  often  approached  within  two  yards  of  him 
without  fear.  I  took  care  to  move  very  softly  and 
gently  without  moving  my  arms,  and  he  always 
allowed  me  to  have  a  fine  view  of  him,  without 
showing  the  least  inclination  to  make  a  spring  at 
me.  He  would  appear  to  keep  his  eye  fixed  on 
me,  as  though  suspicious,  but  that  was  all.  Some- 
times I  have  taken  a  stick  ten  feet  long,  and 
placed  it  on  the  labarri 's  back.  He  would  then 
glide  away  without  offering  resistance.  But  when 
I  put  the  end  of  the  stick  abruptly  to  his  head, 
he  immediately  opened  his  mouth,  flew  at  it,  and 
bit  it. 

One  day,  wishful  to  see  how  the  poison  comes 
out  of  the  fangs  of  the  snake,  I  caught  a  labarri 
alive.  He  was  about  eight  feet  long.  I  held  him 
by  the  neck,  and  my  hand  was  so  near  his  jaw. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     199 

that  he  had  not  room  to  move  his  head  to  bite  it. 
This  was  the  only  position  I  could  have  held  him 
in  with  safety  and  effect.  To  do  so,  it  only  re- 
quired a  little  resolution  and  coolness.  I  then 
took  a  small  piece  of  stick  in  the  other  hand,  and 
pressed  it  against  the  fang,  which  is  invariably 
in  the  upper  jaw.  Towards  the  point  of  the  fang, 
there  is  a  little  oblong  aperture  on  the  convex  side 
of  it.  Through  this,  there  is  a  communication 
down  the  fang  to  the  root,  at  which  lies  a  little 
bag  containing  the  poison.  Now,  when  the  point 
of  the  fang  is  pressed,  the  root  of  the  fang  also 
presses  against  the  bag,  and  sends  up  a  portion 
of  the  poison  therein  contained.  Thus,  when  I 
applied  a  piece  of  stick  to  the  point  of  the  fang, 
there  came  out  of  the  hole  a  liquor  thick  and  yel- 
low, like  strong  camomile  tea.  This  was  the  poi- 
son which  is  so  dreadful  in  its  effects,  as  to  render 
the  labarri  snake  one  of  the  most  poisonous  in  the 
forests  of  Guiana.  I  once  caught  a  fine  labarri, 
and  made  it  bite  itself.  I  forced  the  poisonous 
fang  into  its  belly.  In  a  few  minutes  I  thought 
it  was  going  to  die,  for  it  appeared  dull  and  heavy. 
However,  in  half  an  hour's  time,  he  was  as  brisk 
and  vigorous  as  ever,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
day  showed  no  symptoms  of  being  affected.  Is 
then  the  life  of  the  snake  proof  against  its  own 
poison?  This  subject  is  not  unworthy  of  the  con- 
sideration of  the  naturalist. 

In  Guiana  there  is  a  little  insect  in  the  grass 
and  on  the  shrubs,  which  the  French  call  Bete- 
rouge.  It  is  of  a  beautiful  scarlet  colour,  and  so 
minute,  that  you  must  bring  your  eye  close  to  it 
before  you  can  perceive  it.    It  is  most  numerous 


200     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

in  the  rainy  season.  Its  bite  causes  an  intoler- 
able itching.  The  best  way  to  get  rid  of  it,  is  to  rub 
the  part  affected  with  oil  or  rum.  You  must  be 
careful  not  to  scratch,  it.  If  you  do  so,  and  break 
the  skin,  you  expose  yourself  to  a  sore.  The  first 
year  I  was  in  Guiana,  the  bete-rougq,  and  my  own 
want  of  knowledge,  and,  I  may  add,  the  little  at- 
tention I  paid  to  it,  created  an  ulcer  above  the 
ankle,  which  annoyed  me  for  six  months,  and  if  I 
hobbled  out  into  the  grass,  a  number  of  bete-rouge 
would  settle  on  the  edges  of  the  sore,  and  increase 
tlie  inflammation. 
(^  Still  more  inconvenient,  painful,  and  annoying 
is  another  little  pest,  called  the  Chegoe.  It  looks 
exactly  like  a  very  small  flea,  and  a  stranger 
would  take  it  for  one.  However,  in  about  four  and 
twenty  hours,  he  would  have  several  broad  hints 
that  he  had  made  a  mistake  in  his  ideas  of  the 
animal.  It  attacks  different  parts  of  the  body, 
but  chiefly  the  feet,  betwixt  the  toe-nails  and  the 
flesh.  There  it  buries  itself,  and  at  first  causes 
an  itching  not  unpleasant.  In  a  day  or  so,  after 
examining  the  part,  you  perceive  a  place  about  the 
size  of  a  pea,  somewhat  discoloured,  rather  of  a 
blue  appearance.  Sometimes  it  happens  that  the 
itching  is  so  trivial,  you  are  not  aware  that  the 
miner  is  at  work.  Time,  they  say,  makes  great 
discoveries.  The  discoloured  part  turns  out  to 
be  the  nest  of  the  chegoe  containing  hundreds  of 
eggs,  which,  if  allowed  to  hatch  there,  the  young 
ones  will  soon  begin  to  form  other  nests,  and  in 
time  cause  a  spreading  ulcer.  As  soon  as  you 
perceive  that  you  have  got  the  chegoe  in  your 
flesh,  you  must  take  a  needle,  or  a  sharp-pointed 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     201 

knife,  and  take  it  out.  If  the  nest  be  formed, 
great  care  must  be  taken  not  to  break  it,  otherwise 
some  of  the  eggs  remain  in  the  flesh,  and  then  you 
will  soon  be  annoyed  with  more  chegoes.  After 
removing  the  nest,  it  is  well  to  drop  spirit  of  tur- 
pentine into  the  hole;  that  will  most  effectually 
destroy  any  chegoe  that  may  be  lurking  there. 
Sometimes  I  have  taken  four  nests  out  of  my  feet 
in  the  course  of  the  day.  ^ 

Every  evening,  before  sundown,  it  was  part  of 
my  toilette  to  examine  my  feet,  and  see  that  they 
were  clear  of  chegoes.  Now  and  then  a  nest 
would  escape  the  scrutiny,  and  then  I  had  to 
smart  for  it  a  day  or  two  after.  A  chegoe  once 
lit  upon  the  back  of  my  hand ;  wishful  to  see  how 
he  worked,  I  allowed  him  to  take  possession.  He 
immediately  set  to  work,  head  foremost,  and  in 
about  half  an  hour  he  had  completely  buried 
himself  in  the  skin.  I  then  let  him  feel  the  point 
of  my  knife,  and  exterminated  him. 

More  than  once,  after  sitting  down  upon  a  rot- 
ten stump,  I  have  found  myself  covered  with 
Ticks.  There  is  a  short  and  easy  way  to  get  quit 
of  these  unwelcome  adherents.  Make  a  large  fire 
and  stand  close  to  it,  and  if  you  be  covered  with 
ticks,  they  will  all  fall  off. 

Let  us  now  forget  for  a  while  the  quadrupeds, 
serpents,  and  insects,  and  take  a  transitory  view 
of  the  native  Indians  of  these  forests. 

There  are  five  principal  nations  or  tribes  of 
Indians  in  ci-devant  Dutch  Guiana,  commonly 
known  by  the  name  of  "Warow,  Arowack,  Acoway, 
Carib,  and  Macoushi.  They  live  in  small  hamlets, 
which   consist   of   a   few   huts,   never   exceeding 


202     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

twelve  in  number.  These  huts  are  always  in  the 
forest,  near  a  river  or  some  creek.  They  are 
open  on  all  sides  (except  those  of  the  Macoushi), 
and  covered  with  a  species  of  palm  leaf. 

Their  principal  furniture  is  the  hammock.  It 
serves  them  both  for  chair  and  bed.  It  is  com- 
monly made  of  cotton;  though  those  of  the  Wa- 
rows  are  formed  from  the  *ta  tree.  At  night  they 
always  make  a  fire  close  to  it.  The  heat  keeps 
them  warm,  and  the  smoke  drives  away  the  mos- 
quitos  and  sand-flies.  You  sometimes  find  a  table 
in  the  hut;  but  it  was  not  made  by  the  Indians, 
but  by  some  negro,  or  mulatto  carpenter. 

They  cut  down  about  an  acre  or  two  of  the 
trees  which  surround  the  huts,  and  there  plant 
Pepper,  Papaws,  Sweet  and  Bitter  Cassava,  Plan- 
tains, Sweet  Potatoes,  Yams,  Pine-Apples,  and 
Silk-Grass.  Besides  these,  they  generally  have  a 
few  acres  in  some  fertile  part  of  the  forest  fortfceir 
cassava,  which  is  as  bread  to  them.  They  make 
earthen  pots  to  boil  their  provisions  in ;  and  they 
get  from  the  white  men  flat  circular  plates  of  iron, 
on  which  they  bake  their  cassava.  They  have  to 
grate  the  cassava  before  it  is  pressed,  preparatory 
to  baking;  and  those  Indians  who  are  too  far  in 
the  wilds  to  procure  graters  from  the  white  men, 
make  use  of  a  flat  piece  of  wood,  studded  with 
sharp  stones.  They  have  no  cows,  horses,  mules, 
goats,  sheep,  or  asses.  The  men  hunt  and  fish, 
and  the  women  work  in  the  provision  ground,  and 
cook  their  victuals. 

In  each  hamlet  there  is  the  trunk  of  a  large  tree, 
hollowed  out  like  a  trough.  In  this,  from  their 
cassava,  they  make  an  abominable  ill-tasted  and 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     203 

sour  kind  of  fermented  liquor,  called  piwarri. 
Tliey  are  very  fond  of  it,  and  never  fail  to  get 
drunk  after  every  brewing.  The  frequency  of 
the  brewing  depends  upon  the  superabundance 
of  cassava. 

Both  men  and  women  go  without  clothes.  The 
men  have  a  cotton  wrapper,  and  the  women  a  bead- 
ornamented  square  piece  of  cotton,  about  the  size 
of  your  hand,  for  the  fig-leaf.  Those  far  away  in 
the  interior,  use  the  bark  of  a  tree  for  this  pur- 
pose. They  are  very  clean  people,  and  wash  in  the 
river,  or  creek,  at  least  twice  every  day.  They 
paint  themselves  with  the  roucou,  sweetly  per- 
fumed with  hayawa  or  accaiari.  Their  hair  is 
black  and  lank,  and  never  curled.  The  women 
braid  it  up  fancifully,  something  in  the  shape  of 
Diana's  head-dress  in  ancient  pictures.  They 
have  very  few  diseases.  Old  age  and  pulmonary 
complaints  seem  to  be  the  chief  agents  for  re- 
moving them  to  another  world.  The  pulmonary 
complaints  are  generally  brought  on  by  a  severe 
cold,  which  they  do  not  know  how  to  arrest  in  its 
progress,  by  the  use  of  the  lancet.  I  never  saw  an 
idiot  amongst  them,  nor  could  I  perceive  any  that 
were  deformed  from  their  birth.  Their  women 
never  perish  in  childbed,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  their 
never  wearing  stays.  _ 

They  have  no  public  religious  ceremony.  They 
acknowledge  two  superior  beings, — a  good  one, 
and  a  bad  one.  They  pray  to  the  latter  not  to  hurt 
them,  and  they  are  of  opinion  that  the  former  is 
too  good  to  do  them  an  injury.  I  suspect,  if  the 
truth  were  known,  the  individuals  of  the  village 
never  offer  up  a  single  prayer   or  ejaculation. 


204    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

They  have  a  kind  of  a  priest  called  a  Pee-ay-man, 
who  is  an  enchanter.  He  finds  out  things  lost. 
He  mutters  prayers  to  the  evil  spirit  over  them 
and  their  children  when  they  are  sick.  If  a  fever 
be  in  the  village,  the  Pee-ay-man  goes  about  all 
night  long,  howling,  and  making  dreadful  noises, 
and  begs  the  bad  spirit  to  depart.  But  he  has 
very  seldom  to  perform  this  part  of  his  duty,  as 
fevers  seldom  ^dsit  the  Indian  hamlets.  However, 
when  a  fever  does  come,  and  his  incantations  are 
of  no  avail,  which  I  imagine  is  most  commonly  the 
case,  they  abandon  the  place  for  ever,  and  make 
a  new  settlement  elsewhere.  They  consider  the 
owl  and  the  goatsucker  as  familiars  of  the  evil 
spirit,  and  never  destroy  them. 
"^  I  could  find  no  monuments  or  marks  of  an- 
tiquity amongst  these  Indians ;  so  that  after  pene- 
trating to  the  Rio  Branco,  from  the  shores  of 
the  Western  Ocean,  had  any  body  questioned  me 
on  this  subject,  I  should  have  answered,  I  have 
seen  nothing  amongst  these  Indians  which  tells 
me  that  they  have  existed  here  for  a  century; 
though,  for  aught  I  know  to  the  contrary,  they 
may  have  been  here  before  the  Redemption,  but 
their  total  want  of  civilization  has  assimilated 
them  to  the  forests  in  which  they  wander.  Thus, 
an  aged  tree  falls  and  moulders  into  dust  and  you 
cannot  tell  what  was  its  appearance,  its  beauties, 
or  its  diseases  amongst  the  neighbouring  trees; 
another  has  shot  up  in  its  place,  and  after  nature 
has  had  her  course,  it  will  make  way  for  a  suc- 
cessor in  its  turn.  So  it  is  with  the  Indian  of 
Guiana;  he  is  now  laid  low  in  the  dust;  he  has 
left  no  record  behind  him,  either  on  parchment, 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     205 

or  on  a  stone,  or  in  earthenware,  to  say  what  he 
has  done.  Perhaps  the  place  where  his  huried 
ruins  lie  was  unhealthy,  and  the  survivors  have 
left  it  long  ago,  and  gone  far  away  into  the  wilds. 
All  that  you  can  say  is,  the  trees  where  I  stand 
appear  lower  and  smaller  than  the  rest,  and  from 
this  I  conjecture,  that  some  Indians  may  have  had 
a  settlement  here  formerly.  Were  I  by  chance  to 
meet  the  son  of  the  father  who  moulders  here,  he 
could  tell  me  that  his  father  was  famous  for  slay- 
ing tigers  and  serpents  and  caymen,  and  noted 
in  the  chase  of  the  tapir  and  wild  boar,  but  that  he 
remembers  little  or  nothing  of  his  grandfather. 

They  are  very  jealous  of  their  liberty,  and  much 
attached  to  their  own  mode  of  living.  Though 
those  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  European  set- 
tlements have  constant  communication  with  the 
whites,  they  have  no  inclination  to  become  civi- 
lized. Some  Indians  who  have  accompanied 
white  men  to  Europe,  on  returning  to  their  own 
land,  have  thrown  off  their  clothes,  and  gone 
back  into  the  forests. 

In  George-town,  the  capital  of  Demerara,  there 
is  a  large  shed,  open  on  all  sides,  built  for  them 
by  order  of  government.  Hither  the  Indians 
come  with  monkies,  parrots,  bows  and  arrows, 
and  pegalls.  They  sell  these  to  the  white  men 
for  money,  and  too  often  purchase  rum  with  it, 
to  which  they  are  wonderfully  addicted. 

Government  allows  them  annual  presents  in 
order  to  have  their  services,  when  the  colony 
deems  it  necessary  to  scour  the  forests  in  quest 
of  runaway  negroes.  Formerly  these  expeditions 
were  headed  by  Charles  Edmonstone,  Esq.,  now 


206    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

of  Cardross  Park,  near  Dumbarton.  This  brave 
colonist  never  returned  from  the  woods  without 
being  victorious.  Once,  in  an  attack  upon  the 
rebel  negroes'  camp,  he  led  the  way,  and  received 
two  balls  in  his  body;  at  the  same  moment  that 
he  was  wounded,  two  of  his  Indians  fell  dead  by 
his  side ;  he  recovered  after  his  life  was  despaired 
of,  but  the  balls  could  never  be  extracted. 

Since  the  above  appeared  in  print,  I  have  had 
the  account  of  this  engagement  with  the  negroes 
in  the  forest  from  Mr.  Edmonstone's  own  mouth. 

He  received  four  slugs  in  his  body,  as  will  be 
seen  in  the  sequel. 

The  plantations  of  Demerara  and  Essequibo 
are  bounded  by  an  almost  interminable  extent  of 
forest.  Hither  the  runaway  negroes  repair,  and 
form  settlements,  from  whence  they  issue  to 
annoy  the  colonists,  as  occasion  may  offer. 

In  1801,  the  runaway  slaves  had  increased  to 
an  alarming  extent.  The  Governor  gave  orders 
that  an  expedition  should  be  immediately  or- 
ganized, and  proceed  to  the  woods,  under  the 
command  of  Charles  Edmonstone,  Esq.  General 
Hislop  sent  him  a  corporal,  a  sergeant,  and  eleven 
men,  and  he  was  joined  by  a  part  of  the  colonial 
militia,  and  by  sixty  Indians. 

With  this  force  Mr.  Edmonstone  entered  the 
forest,  and  proceeded  in  a  direction  towards 
Mahaica. 

He  marched  for  eight,  days  through  swamps, 
and  over  places  obstructed  by  fallen  trees  and 
the  bush-rope;  tormented  by  myriads  of  mos- 
quitos,    and    ever  in    fear   of   treading    on    the 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     207 

poisonous  snakes,  which  can  scarcely  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  fallen  leaves. 

At  last  he  reached  a  wooded  sand-hill,  where 
the  Maroons  had  intrenched  themselves  in  great 
force.  Not  expecting  to  come  so  soon  upon  them, 
Mr.  Edmonstone,  his  faithful  man  Coffee,  and  two 
Indian  chiefs,  found  themselves  considerably- 
ahead  of  their  own  party.  As  yet,  they  were  un- 
perceived  by  the  enemy,  but,  unfortunately,  one 
of  the  Indian  chiefs  fired  a  random  shot  at  a  dis- 
tant Maroon.  Immediately  the  whole  negro 
camp  turned  out,  and  formed  themselves  in  a 
crescent,  in  front  of  Mr.  Edmonstone.  Their 
chief  was  an  uncommonly  fine  negro,  about  six 
feet  in  height ;  and  his  head-dress  was  that  of  an 
African  warrior,  ornamented  with  a  profusion  of 
small  shells.  He  advanced  undauntedly  with  his 
gun  in  his  hand,  and,  in  insulting  language,  called 
out  to  Mr.  Edmonstone  to  come  on  and  fight  him. 

Mr.  Edmonstone  approached  him  slowly,  in 
order  to  give  his  own  men  time  to  come  up;  but 
they  were  yet  too  far  off  for  him  to  profit  by  this 
manoeuvre.  Coffee,  who  carried  his  master's 
gun,  now  stepped  up  behind  him,  and  put  the  gun 
into  his  hand,  which  Mr.  Edmonstone  received, 
without  advancing  it  to  his  shoulder. 

He  was  now  within  a  few  yards  of  the  Maroon 
chief,  who  seemed  to  betray  some  symptoms  of 
uncertainty;  for  instead  of  firing  directly  at  Mr. 
Edmonstone,  he  took  a  step  sideways,  and  rested 
his  gun  against  a  tree;  no  doubt  with  the  inten- 
tion of  taking  a  surer  aim,  Mr.  Edmonstone,  on 
perceiving  this,  immediately  cocked  his  gun,  and 


208     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

fired  it  off,  still  holding  it  in  the  position  in  which 
he  had  received  it  from  Coffee. 

The  whole  of  the  contents  entered  the  negro's 
body,  and  he  dropped  dead  on  his  face. 

The  negroes,  who  had  formed  in  a  crescent,  now 
in  their  turn  fired  a  volley,  which  brought  Mr. 
Edmonstone  and  his  two  Indian  chiefs  to  the 
ground.  The  Maroons  did  not  stand  to  reload, 
but  on  Mr.  Edmonstone 's  party  coming  up,  they 
fled  precipitately  into  the  surrounding  forest. 

Four  slugs  had  entered  Mr.  Edmonstone 's 
body.  After  coming  to  himself,  on  looking 
around,  he  saw  one  of  the  fallen  Indian  chiefs 
bleeding  by  his  side.  He  accosted  him  by  name, 
and  said  he  hoped  he  was  not  much  hurt.  The 
dying  Indian  had  just  strength  enough  to  answer, 
*'0h  no," — and  then  expired.  The  other  chief 
was  lying  quite  dead.  He  must  have  received  his 
mortal  wound  just  as  he  was  in  the  act  of  cocking 
his  gun  to  fire  on  the  negroes;  for  it  appeared 
that  the  ball  which  gave  him  his  death  wound, 
had  carried  off  the  first  joint  of  his  thumb,  and 
passed  through  his  forehead.  By  this  time  his 
wife,  who  had  accompanied  the  expedition,  came 
up.  She  was  a  fine  young  woman,  and  had  her 
long  black  hair  fancifully  braided  in  a  knot  on  the 
top  of  her  head,  fastened  with  a  silver  ornament. 
She  unloosed  it,  and,  falling  on  her  husband's 
body,  covered  it  with  her  hair,  bewailing  his 
untimely  end  with  the  most  heartrending  cries. 

The  blood  was  now  running  out  of  Mr.  Edmon- 
stone's  shoes.  On  being  raised  up,  he  ordered 
his  men  to  pursue  the  flying  Maroons,  requesting 
at  the  same  time  that  he  might  be  left  where  he 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    209 

had  fallen,  as  he  felt  that  he  was  mortally 
wounded.  They  gently  placed  him  on  the  ground, 
and  after  the  pursuit  of  the  Maroons  had  ended, 
the  corporal  and  sergeant  returned  to  their  com- 
mander, and  formed  their  men.  On  his  asking 
what  this  meant,  the  sergeant  replied,  ''I  had  the 
General's  orders,  on  setting  out  from  town,  not 
to  leave  you  in  the  forest,  happen  what  might." 
By  slow  and  careful  marches,  as  much  as  the 
obstructions  in  the  woods  would  admit  of,  the 
party  reached  Plantation  Alliance,  on  the  bank 
of  the  Demerara,  and  from  thence  it  crossed  the 
river  to  Plantation  Vredestein. 

The  news  of  the  rencounter  had  been  spread  far 
and  wide  by  the  Indians,  and  had  already  reached 
town.  The  General,  Captains  ]^.Iacrai  and  John- 
stone, and  Doctor  Dunkin,  proceeded  to  Vredes- 
tein, On  examining  Mr.  Edmonstone's  wounds, 
four  slugs  were  found  to  have  entered  the  body; 
one  was  extracted,  the  rest  remained  there  till 
the  year  1824,  when  another  was  cut  out  by  a 
professional  gentleman  of  Port  Glasgow,  The 
other  two  still  remain  in  the  body;  and  it  is  sup- 
posed that  either  one  or  both  have  touched  a 
nerve,  as  they  cause  almost  continual  pain.  Mr. 
Edmonstone  has  commanded  fifteen  different  ex- 
peditions in  the  forest  in  quest  of  the  Maroons. 
The  Colonial  Government  has  requited  his  serv- 
ices, by  freeing  his  property  from  all  taxes,  and 
presenting  him  a  handsome  sword,  and  a  silver 
urn,  bearing  the  following  inscription : 

"Presented  to  Charles   Edmonstone,  Esq.,  by  the  Governor 
and  Court  of  Policy  of  the  Colony  of  Demerara,  as  a  token  of 
their  esteem,  and  the  deep  sense  they  entertain  of  the  very  great 
14 


210    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

activity  and  spirit  manifested  by  him  on  various  occasions  in  his 
successful  exertions  for  the  internal  security  of  the  Colony. — 
January  1st,  1809. ' ' 

I  do  not  believe  that  there  is  a  single  Indian 
in  ci-devant  Dutch  Guiana  who  can  read  or  write, 
nor  am  I  aware  that  any  white  man  has  reduced 
their  language  to  the  rules  of  grammar;  some 
may  have  made  a  short  manuscript  vocabulary 
of  the  few  necessary  words,  but  that  is  all.  Here 
and  there  a  white  man,  and  some  few  people  of 
colour,  talk  the  language  well.  The  temper  of 
the  Indian  of  Guiana  is  mild  and  gentle,  and  he 
is  very  fond  of  his  children. 
f  Some  ignorant  travellers  and  colonists  call 
these  Indians  a  lazy  race.  Man  in  general  will 
not  be  active  without  an  object.  Now  when  the 
Indian  has  caught  plenty  of  fish,  and  killed  game 
enough  to  last  him  for  a  week,  what  need  has  he  to 
range  the  forest?  He  has  no  idea  of  making 
pleasure-grounds.  Money  is  of  no  use  to  him, 
for  in  these  wilds  there  are  no  markets  for  him 
to  frequent,  nor  milliners'  shops  for  his  wife  and 
daughters;  he  has  no  taxes  to  pay,  no  highways 
to  keep  up,  no  poor  to  maintain,  nor  army  nor 
navy  to  supply ;  he  lies  in  his  hammock  both  night 
and  day  (for  he  has  no  chair  or  bed,  neither  does 
he  want  them),  and  in  it  he  forms  his  bow,  and 
makes  his  arrows,  and  repairs  his  fishing  tackle. 
But  as  soon  as  he  has  consumed  his  provisions, 
he  then  rouses  himself,  and,  like  the  lion,  scours 
the  forest  in  quest  of  food.  He  plunges  into  the 
river  after  the  deer  and  tapir,  and  swims  across 
it;  passes  through  swamps  and  quagmires,  and 
never    fails    to    obtain    a    sufficient    supply    of 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     211 

food.  Should  the  approach  of  night  stop  his 
career,  while  he  is  hunting  the  wild  boar,  he  stops 
for  the  night,  and  continues  the  chase  the  nerty 
morning.  In  my  way  through  the  wilds  to  the 
Portuguese  frontier,  I  had  a  proof  of  this:  we 
were  eight  in  number,  six  Indians,  a  negro,  and 
myself.  About  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  we 
observed  the  feet-mark  of  the  wild  boars;  we 
judged  by  the  freshness  of  the  marks  that  they 
had  passed  that  way  early  the  same  morning. 
As  we  were  not  gifted,  like  the  hound,  with  scent, 
and  as  we  had  no  dog  with  us,  we  followed  their 
track  by  the  eye.  The  Indian  after  game  is  as 
sure  with  his  eye  as  the  dog  is  with  his  nose. 
We  followed  the  herd  till  three  in  the  afternoon, 
then  gave  up  the  chase  for  the  present ;  made  our 
fires  close  to  a  creek  where  there  was  plenty  of 
fish,  and  then  arranged  the  hammocks.  In  an 
hour  the  Indians  shot  more  fish  with  their  arrows 
than  we  could  consume.  The  night  was  beauti- 
fully serene  and  clear,  and  the  moon  shone  as 
bright  as  day.  Next  morn  we  rose  at  dawn,  got 
breakfast,  packed  up,  each  took  his  burden,  and 
then  we  put  ourselves  on  the  track  of  the  wild 
boars,  which  we  had  been  following  the  day 
before.  We  supposed  that  they,  too,  would  sleep 
that  night  in  the  forest,  as  we  had  done ;  and  thus 
the  delay  on  our  part  would  be  no  disadvantage 
to  us.  This  was  just  the  case,  for  about  nine 
o'clock  their  feet-marks  became  fresher  and 
fresher:  we  now  doubled  our  pace,  but  did  not 
give  mouth  like  hounds.  We  pushed  on  in  silence, 
and  soon  came  up  with  them;  they  were  above 
one  hundred  of  them ;  we  killed  six,  and  the  rest 


212     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

took  off  in  different  directions.    But  to  the  point. 

Amongst  us  the  needy  man  works  from  light 
to  dark  for  a  maintenance.  Should  this  man 
chance  to  acquire  a  fortune,  he  soon  changes  his 
habits.  No  longer  under  "strong  necessity's 
supreme  command,"  he  contrives  to  get  out  of 
bed  betwixt  nine  and  ten  in  the  morning.  His 
servant  helps  him  to  dress,  he  walks  on  a  soft 
carpet  to  his  breakfast  table,  his  wife  pours  out 
his  tea,  and  his  servant  hands  him  his  toast. 
After  breakfast,  the  doctor  advises  a  little  gentle 
exercise  in  the  carriage  for  an  hour  or  so.  At 
dinner-time  he  sits  down  to  a  table  groaning  be- 
neath the  weight  of  heterogeneous  luxury:  there 
he  rests  upon  a  chair  for  three  or  four  hours, 
eats,  drinks,  and  talks  (often  unmeaningly)  till 
tea  is  announced.  He  proceeds  slowly  to  the 
drawing-room,  and  there  spends  the  best  part  of 
his  time  in  sitting,  till  his  wife  tempts  him  with 
something  warm  for  supper.  After  supper,  he 
still  remains  on  his  chair  at  rest,  till  he  retires 
to  rest  for  the  night.  He  mounts  leisurely  up 
stairs  upon  a  carpet,  and  enters  his  bed-room: 
there,  one  would  hope,  that  at  least  he  mutters  a 
prayer  or  two,  though  perhaps  not  on  bended 
knee:  he  then  lets  himself  drop  into  a  soft  and 
downy  bed,  over  which  has  just  passed  the  comely 
Jenny's  warming-pan.  Now,  could  the  Indian 
in  his  turn  see  this,  he  would  call  the  white  men 
a  lazy,  indolent  set. 

Perhaps  then,  upon  due  reflection,  you  would 
draw  this  conclusion;  that  men  will  always  be 
indolent  where  there  is  no  object  to  rouse  them. 

As  the  Indian  of  Guiana  has  no  idea  whatever 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AINIERICA     213 

of  communicating  his  intentions  by  writing,  he 
has  fallen  upon  a  plan  of  communication  sure  and 
simple.  When  two  or  three  families  have  de- 
termined to  come  down  the  river  and  pay  you  a 
visit,  they  send  an  Indian  beforehand  with  a 
string  of  beads.  You  take  one  bead  off  every 
day;  and  on  the  day  that  the  string  is  headless, 
they  arrive  at  your  house.  _^ 

In  finding  their  way  through  these  pathless 
wilds,  the  sun  is  to  them  what  Ariadne's  clue  was 
to  Theseus.  When  he  is  on  the  meridian,  they 
generally  sit  down,  and  rove  onwards  again  as 
soon  as  he  has  sufficiently  declined  to  the  west; 
they  require  no  other  compass.  "WTien  in  chase, 
they  break  a  twig  on  the  bushes  as  they  pass  by 
every  three  or  four  hundred  paces,  and  this  often 
prevents  them  from  losing  their  way  on  their 
return. 

You  will  not  be  long  in  the  forests  of  Guiana, 
before  you  perceive  how  very  thinly  they  are 
inhabited.  You  may  wander  for  a  week  together 
without  seeing  a  hut.  The  wild  beasts,  snakes, 
the  swamps,  the  trees,  the  uncurbed  luxuriance 
of  everything  around  you,  conspire  to  inform  you 
that  man  has  no  habitation  here — man  has  sel- 
dom passed  this  way. 


CHAPTER   III 

Let  us  now  return  to  natural  history.  There 
was  a  person  making  shingles,  with  twenty  or 
thirty  negroes,  not  far  from  Mibiri-hill.  I  had 
offered  a  reward  to  any  of  them  who  would  find  a 
good-sized  snake  in  the  forest,  and  come  and  let 
me  know  where  it  was.  Often  had  these  negroes 
looked  for  a  large  snake,  and  as  often  been  dis- 
appointed. 

One  Sunday  morning  I  met  one  of  them  in  the 
forest,  and  asked  him  which  way  he  was  going: 
he  said  he  was  going  towards  Warratilla  creek  to 
hunt  an  armadillo :  and  he  had  his  little  dog  with 
him.  On  coming  back,  about  noon,  the  dog  began 
to  bark  at  the  root  of  a  large  tree,  which  had 
been  upset  by  the  whirlwind,  and  was  lying  there 
in  a  gradual  state  of  decay.  The  negro  said,  he 
thought  his  dog  was  barking  at  an  acouri,  which 
had  probably  taken  refuge  under  the  tree,  and  he 
went  up  with  an  intention  to  kill  it :  he  there  saw 
a  snake,  and  hastened  back  to  inform  me  of  it. 

The  sun  had  just  passed  the  meridian  in  a 
cloudless  sky;  there  was  scarcely  a  bird  to  be 
seen,  for  the  winged  inhabitants  of  the  forest,  as 
though  overcome  by  heat,  had  retired  to  the 
thickest  shade :  all  would  have  been  like  midnight 
silence,  were  it  not  for  the  shrill  voice  of  the 
Pi-pi-yo,  every  now  and  then  resounding  from  a 
distant  tree.    I  was  sitting  with  a  little  Horace 

214 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     215 

in  my  hand,  on  what  had  once  been  the  steps 
which  formerly  led  up  to  the  now  mouldering  and 
dismantled  building.  The  negro  and  his  little 
dog  came  down  the  hill  in  haste,  and  I  was  soon 
informed  that  a  snake  had  been  discovered ;  but  it 
was  a  young  one,  called  the  Bush-master,  a  rare 
and  poisonous  snake. 

I  instantly  rose  up,  and  laying  hold  of  the 
eight-foot  lance,  which  was  close  by  me,  ''Well 
then,  Daddy,"  said  I,  ''we'll  go  and  have  a  look 
at  the  snake."  I  was  barefoot,  with  an  old  hat, 
and  check  shirt,  and  trousers  on,  and  a  pair  of 
braces  to  keep  them  up.  The  negro  had  his  cut- 
lass, and  as  we  ascended  the  hill,  another  negro, 
armed  with  a  cutlass,  joined  us,  judging,  from 
our  pace,  that  there  was  something  to  do.  The 
little  dog  came  along  with  us,  and  when  we  had 
got  about  half  a  mile  in  the  forest,  the  negro 
stopped,  and  pointed  to  the  fallen  tree:  all  was 
still  and  silent:  I  told  the  negroes  not  to  stir 
from  the  place  where  they  were,  and  keep  the 
little  dog  in,  and  that  I  would  go  in  and  re- 
connoitre. 

I  advanced  up  to  the  place  slow  and  cautious. 
The  snake  was  well  concealed,  but  at  last  I  made 
him  out ;  it  was  a  Coulacanara,  not  poisonous,  but 
large  enough  to  have  crushed  any  of  us  to  death. 
On  measuring  him  afterwards,  he  was  something 
more  than  fourteen  feet  long. 

This  species  of  snake  is  very  rare,  and  much 
thicker,  in '  proportion  to  his  length,  than  any 
other  snake  in  the  forest.  A  coulacanara  of  four- 
teen feet  in  length  is  as  thick  as  a  common  boa 
of  twenty- four.     After  skinning  this  snake  I  could 


216     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

easily  get  my  head  into  his  mouth,  as  the  singular 
formation  of  the  jaws  admits  of  wonderful  ex- 
tension. 

A  Dutch  friend  of  mine,  by  name  Brouwer, 
killed  a  Boa,  twenty-two  feet  long,  with  a  pair  of 
stag's  horns  in  his  mouth:  he  had  swallowed  the 
stag,  but  could  not  get  the  horns  down:  so  he 
had  to  wait  in  patience  with  that  uncomfortable 
mouthful  till  his  stomach  digested  the  body,  and 
then  the  horns  would  drop  out.  In  this  plight 
the  Dutchman  found  him  as  he  was  going  in  his 
canoe  up  the  river,  and  sent  a  ball  through  his 
head. 

On  ascertaining  the  size  of  the  serpent  which 
the  negro  had  just  found,  I  retired  slowly  the 
way  I  came,  and  promised  four  dollars  to  the  ne- 
gro who  had  shown  it  to  me,  and  one  to  the 
other  who  had  joined  us.  Aware  that  the  day 
was  on  the  decline,  and  that  the  approach  of  night 
would  be  detrimental  to  the  dissection,  a  thought 
struck  me  that  I  could  take  him  alive.  I  imagined 
if  I  could  strike  him  with  the  lance  behind  the 
head,  and  pin  him  to  the  ground,  I  might  succeed 
in  capturing  him.  When  I  told  this  to  the  ne- 
groes, they  begged  and  entreated  me  to  let  them 
go  for  a  gun,  and  bring  more  force,  as  they  were 
sure  the  snake  would  kill  some  of  us. 

I  had  been  at  the  siege  of  Troy  for  nine  years, 
and  it  would  not  do  now  to  carry  back  to  Greece, 
^'nil  decimo  nisi  dedecus  anno."  I  mean,  I  had 
been  in  search  of  a  large  serpent  for  years,  and 
now  having  come  up  with  one,  it  did  not  become 
me  to  turn  soft.  So,  taking  a  cutlass  from  one 
of  the  negroes,  and  then  ranging  both  the  sable 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     217 

slaves  behind  me,  I  told  them  to  follow  me,  and 
that  I  would  cut  them  down  if  they  offered  to  fly. 
I  smiled  as  I  said  this,  but  they  shook  their  heads 
in  silence,  and  seemed  to  have  but  a  bad  heart 
of  it. 

When  we  got  up  to  the  place,  the  serpent  had  not 
stirred,  but  I  could  see  nothing  of  his  head,  and  I 
judged  by  the  folds  of  his  body  that  it  must  be 
at  the  farthest  side  of  his  den.  A  species  of 
woodbine  had  formed  a  complete  mantle  over  the 
branches  of  the  fallen  tree,  almost  impervious  to 
the  rain,  or  the  rays  of  the  sun.  Probably  he 
had  resorted  to  this  sequestered  place  for  a  length 
of  time,  as  it  bore  marks  of  an  ancient  settlement. 

I  now  took  my  knife,  determining  to  cut  away 
the  woodbine,  and  break  the  twigs  in  the  gentlest 
manner  possible,  till  I  could  get  a  view  of  his 
head.  One  negro  stood  guard  close  behind  me 
with  the  lance;  and  near  him  the  other  with  a 
cutlass.  The  cutlass  which  I  had  taken  from  the 
first  negro  was  on  the  ground  close  by  me  in  case 
of  need. 

After  working  in  dead  silence  for  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  with  one  knee  all  the  time  on  the  ground, 
I  had  cleared  away  enough  to  see  his  head.  It 
appeared  coming  out  betwixt  the  first  and  second 
coil  of  his  body,  and  was  flat  on  the  ground.  This 
was  the  very  position  I  wished  it  to  be  in. 

I  rose  in  silence  and  retreated  very  slowly,  mak- 
ing a  sign  to  the  negroes  to  do  the  same.  The 
dog  was  sitting  at  a  distance  in  mute  observance. 
I  could  now  read  in  the  face  of  the  negroes,  that 
they  considered  this  a  very  unpleasant  affair ;  and 
they  made  another  attempt  to  persuade  me  to  let 


218    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

them  go  for  a  gun.  I  smiled  in  a  good-natured 
manner,  and  made  a  feint  to  cut  them  down  with 
the  weapon  I  had  in  my  hand.  This  was  all  the 
answer  I  made  to  their  request,  and  they  looked 
very  uneasy. 

It  must  be  observed,  we  were  now  about  twenty 
yards  from  the  snake's  den.  I  now  ranged  the 
negroes  behind  me,  and  told  him  who  stood  next 
to  me  to  lay  hold  of  the  lance  the  moment  I 
struck  the  snake,  and  that  the  other  must  attend 
my  movements.  It  now  only  remained  to  take 
their  cutlasses  from  them,  for  I  was  sure,  if  I 
did  not  disarm  them,  they  would  be  tempted  to 
strike  the  snake  in  time  of  danger,  and  thus  for 
ever  spoil  his  skin.  On  taking  their  cutlasses 
from  them,  if  I  might  judge  from  their  physi- 
ognomy, they  seemed  to  consider  it  as  a  most 
intolerable  act  of  tyranny  in  me.  Probably  noth- 
ing kept  them  from  bolting,  but  the  consolation 
that  I  was  to  be  betwixt  them  and  the  snake. 
Indeed,  my  own  heart,  in  spite  of  all  I  could  do, 
beat  quicker  than  usual;  and  I  felt  those  sensa- 
tions which  one  has  on  board  a  merchant-vessel 
in  war  time,  when  the  captain  orders  all  hands  on 
deck  to  prepare  for  action,  while  a  strange  vessel 
is  coming  down  upon  us  under  suspicious  colours. 

We  went  slowly  on  in  silence,  without  moving 
our  arms  or  heads,  in  order  to  prevent  all  alarm 
as  much  as  possible,  lest  the  snake  should  glide 
off,  or  attack  us  in  self-defence.  I  carried  the 
lance  perpendicularly  before  me,  with  the  point 
about  a  foot  from  the  ground.  The  snake  had 
not  moved;  and  on  getting  up  to  him,  I  struck 
him  with  the  lance  on  the  near  side,  just  behind 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     219 

the  neck,  and  pinned  him  to  the  ground.  That 
moment,  the  negro  next  to  me  seized  the  lance, 
and  held  it  firm  in  its  place,  while  I  dashed  head 
foremost  into  the  den  to  grapple  with  the  snake, 
and  to  get  hold  of  his  tail  before  he  could  do  any 
mischief. 

On  pinning  him  to  the  ground  with  the  lance,  he 
gave  a  tremendous  loud  hiss,  and  the  little  dog 
ran  away,  howling  as  he  went.  We  had  a  sharp 
fray  in  the  den,  the  rotten  sticks  flying  on  all 
sides,  and  each  party  struggling  for  superiority. 
I  called  out  to  the  second  negro  to  throw  himself 
upon  me,  as  I  found  I  was  not  heavy  enough. 
He  did  so,  and  the  additional  weight  was  of  great 
service.  I  had  now  got  firm  hold  of  his  tail ;  and 
after  a  violent  struggle  or  two,  he  gave  in,  find- 
ing himself  overpowered.  .This  was  the  moment 
to  secure  him.  So,  while  the  first  negro  con- 
tinued to  hold  the  lance  firm  to  the  ground,  and 
the  other  was  helping  me,  I  contrived  to  unloose 
my  braces,  and  with  them  tied  up  the  snake's 
mouth. 

The  snake  now  finding  himself  in  an  unpleasant 
situation,  tried  to  better  himself,  and  set  reso- 
lutely to  work,  but  we  overpowered  him.  We 
contrived  to  make  him  twist  himself  round  the 
shaft  of  the  lance,  and  then  prepared  to  convey 
him  out  of  the  forest.  I  stood  at  his  head  and 
held  it  firm  under  my  arm,  one  negro  supported 
the  belly,  and  the  other  the  tail.  In  this  order 
we  began  to  move  slowly  towards  home,  and 
reached  it  after  resting  ten  times;  for  the  snake 
was  too  heavy  for  us  to  support  him  without 
stopping  to  recruit  our  strength.     As  we  pro- 


220     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

ceeded  onwards  with  Mm,  lie  fouglit  hard  for 
freedom,  but  it  was  all  in  vain.  The  day  was 
now  too  far  spent  to  think  of  dissecting  him. 
Had  I  killed  him,  a  partial  putrefaction  would 
have  taken  place  before  morning.  I  had  brought 
with  me  up  into  the  forest  a  strong  bag,  large 
enough  to  contain  any  animal  that  I  should  want 
to  dissect.  I  considered  this  the  best  mode  of 
keeping  live  wild  animals  when  I  was  pressed  for 
daylight;  for  the  bag  yielding  in  every  direction 
to  their  efforts,  they  would  have  nothing  solid  or 
fixed  to  work  on,  and  thus  would  be  prevented 
from  making  a  hole  through  it.  I  say  fixed,  for 
after  the  mouth  of  the  bag  was  closed,  the  bag 
itself  was  not  fastened  or  tied  to  anything,  but 
moved  about  wherever  the  animal  inside  caused 
it  to  roll.  After  securing  afresh  the  mouth  of 
the  coulacanara,  so  that  he  could  not  open  it,  he 
was  forced  into  this  bag,  and  left  to  his  fate  till 
morning. 

I  cannot  say  he  allowed  me  to  have  a  quiet 
night.  My  hammock  was  in  the  loft  just  above 
him,  and  the  floor  betwixt  us,  half  gone  to  decay, 
so  that  in  parts  of  it  no  boards  intervened  betwixt 
his  lodging-room  and  mine.  He  was  very  rest- 
less and  fretful ;  and  had  Medusa  been  my  wife, 
there  could  not  have  been  more  continued  and 
disagreeable  hissing  in  the  bedchamber  that  night. 
At  daybreak,  I  sent  to  borrow  ten  of  the  negroes 
who  were  cutting  wood  at  a  distance ;  I  could  have 
done  with  half  that  number,  but  judged  it  most 
prudent  to  have  a  good  force,  in  case  he  should 
try  to  escape  from  the  house  when  we  opened  the 
bag.    However,  nothing  serious  occurred. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AINIERICA     221 

We  untied  the  mouth  of  the  bag,  kept  him  down 
])y  main  force,  and  then  I  cut  his  throat.  He  bled 
like  an  ox.  By  six  o'clock  the  same  evening,  he 
was  completely  dissected.  On  examining  his 
teeth,  I  observed  that  they  were  all  bent  like  ten- 
ter-hooks, pointing  down  his  throat,  and  not  so 
large  or  strong  as  I  expected  to  have  found  them ; 
but  they  are  exactly  suited  to  what  they  are 
intended  by  nature  to  perform.  The  snake  does 
not  masticate  his  food,  and  thus  the  only  service 
his  teeth  have  to  perform  is  to  seize  his  prey,  and 
hold  it  till  he  swallows  it  whole. 

In  general,  the  skins  of  snakes  are  sent  to  mu- 
seums without  the  head:  for  when  the  Indians 
and  Negroes  kill  a  snake,  they  seldom  fail  to  cut 
off  the  head,  and  then  they  run  no  risk  from  its 
teeth.  When  the  skin  is  stuffed  in  the  museum, 
a  wooden  head  is  substituted,  armed  with  teeth 
which  are  large  enough  to  suit  a  tiger's  jaw;  and 
this  tends  to  mislead  the  spectator,  and  give  him 
erroneous  ideas. 

During  this  fray  with  the  serpent,  the  old  ne- 
gro. Daddy  Quashi,  was  in  George-town  procuring 
provisions,  and  just  returned  in  time  to  help  to 
take  the  skin  off.  He  had  spent  best  part  of  his 
life  in  the  forest  with  his  old  master,  Mr.  Ed- 
monstone,  and  amused  me  much  in  recounting 
their  many  adventures  amongst  the  wild  beasts. 
The  Daddy  had  a  particular  horror  of  snakes,  and 
frankly  declared  he  could  never  have  faced  the 
one  in  question. 

The  week  following,  his  courage  was  put  to  the 
test,  and  he  made  good  his  words.  It  was  a 
curious   conflict,   and   took  place  near  the   spot 


222     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

where  I  had  captured  the  large  snake.  In  the 
morning  I  had  been  following  a  new  species  of 
paroquet,  and  the  day  being  rainy,  I  had  taken  an 
umbrella  to  keep  the  gun  dry,  and  had  left  it 
under  a  tree;  in  the  afternoon  I  took  Daddy 
Quashi  with  me  to  look  for  it.  Whilst  he  was 
searching  about,  curiosity  took  me  towards  the 
place  of  the  late  scene  of  action.  There  was  a 
path  where  timber  had  formerly  been  dragged 
along.  Here  I  observed  a  young  coulacanara,  ten 
feet  long,  slowly  moving  onwards;  I  saw  he  was 
not  thick  enough  to  break  my  arm  in  case  he  got 
twisted  round  it.  There  was  not  a  moment  to  be 
lost.  I  laid  hold  of  his  tail  with  the  left  hand, 
one  knee  being  on  the  ground;  with  the  right  I 
took  my  hat,  and  held  it  as  you  would  hold  a 
shield  for  defence.  The  snake  instantly  turned, 
and  came  on  at  me,  with  his  head  about  a  yard 
from  the  ground,  as  if  to  ask  me,  what  business 
I  had  to  take  liberties  with  his  tail.  I  let  him 
come,  hissing  and  open-mouthed,  within  two  feet 
of  my  face,  and  then,  with  all  the  force  I  was 
master  of,  I  drove  my  fist,  shielded  by  my  hat, 
full  in  his  jaws.  He  was  stunned  and  confounded 
by  the  blow,  and  ere  he  could  recover  himself,  I 
had  seized  his  throat  with  both  hands,  in  such  a 
position  that  he  could  not  bite  me ;  I  then  allowed 
him  to  coil  himslf  round  my  body,  and  marched 
off  with  him  as  my  lawful  prize.  He  pressed  me 
hard,  but  not  alarmingly  so. 

In  the  meantime.  Daddy  Quashi  having  found 
the  umbrella,  and  having  heard  the  noise  which 
the  fray  occasioned,  was  coming  cautiously  up. 
As  soon  as  he  saw  me,  and  in  what  company  I 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     223 

was,  he  turned  about  and  ran  off  home,  I  after 
him,  and  shouting  to  increase  his  fear.  On  scold- 
ing him  for  his  cowardice,  the  old  rogue  begged 
that  I  would  forgive  him,  for  that  the  sight  of  the 
snake  had  positively  turned  him  sick  at  stomach. 

When  I  had  done  with  the  carcass  of  the  large 
snake,  it  was  conveyed  into  the  forest,  as  I  ex- 
pected that  it  would  attract  the  king  of  the  vul- 
tures, as  soon  as  time  should  have  rendered  it 
sufficiently  savoury.  In  a  few  days  it  sent  forth 
that  odour  which  a  carcass  should  send  forth, 
and  about  twenty  of  the  common  vultures  came 
and  perched  on  the  neighbouring  trees;  the  king 
of  the  vultures  came  too ;  and  I  observed  that  none 
of  the  common  ones  seemed  inclined  to  begin 
breakfast  till  his  majesty  had  finished.  "When  he 
had  consumed  as  much  snake  as  nature  informed 
him  would  do  him  good,  he  retired  to  the  top  of  a 
high  mora-tree,  and  then  all  the  common  vultures 
fell  to,  and  made  a  hearty  meal. 

The  head  and  neck  of  the  king  of  the  vultures 
are  bare  of  feathers ;  but  the  beautiful  appearance 
they  exhibit  fades  in  death.  The  throat  and  the 
back  of  the  neck  are  of  a  fine  lemon  colour;  both 
sides  of  the  neck,  from  the  ears  downwards,  of  a 
rich  scarlet;  behind  the  corrugated  part  there  is 
a  white  spot.  The  crown  of  the  head  is  scarlet; 
betwixt  the  lower  mandible  and  the  eye,  and  close 
by  the  ear,  there  is  a  part  which  has  a  fine  silvery 
blue  appearance;  the  corrugated  part  is  of  a 
dirty  light  brown;  behind  it,  and  just  above 
the  white  spot,  a  portion  of  the  skin  is  blue,  and 
the  rest  scarlet ;  the  skin  which  juts  out  behind  the 


224    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

neck,  and  appears  like  an  oblong  caruncle,  is  blue 
in  part,  and  part  orange. 

The  bill  is  orange  and  black,  the  caruncles  on 
his  forehead  orange,  and  the  cere  orange;  the 
orbits  scarlet,  and  the  irides  white.  Below  the 
bare  part  of  the  neck  there  is  a  cinereous  ruff. 
The  bag  of  the  stomach,  which  is  only  seen  when 
distended  with  food,  is  of  a  most  delicate  white, 
intersected  with  blue  veins,  which  appear  on  it 
just  like  the  blue  veins  on  the  arm  of  a  fair- 
complexioned  person. 

The  tail  and  long  wing-feathers  are  black,  the 
belly  white,  and  the  rest  of  the  body  a  fine  satin 
colour. 

I  cannot  be  persuaded  that  the  vultures  ever 
feed  upon  live  animals,  not  even  upon  lizards, 
rats,  mice,  or  frogs;  I  have  watched  them  for 
hours  together,  but  never  could  see  them  touch 
any  living  animals,  though  innumerable  lizards, 
frogs,  and  small  birds  swarmed  all  around  them. 
I  have  killed  lizards  and  frogs,  and  put  them  in  a 
proper  place  for  observation;  as  soon  as  they 
began  to  stink,  the  Aura  vulture  invariably  came 
and  took  them  off.  I  have  frequently  observed, 
that  the  day  after  the  planter  had  burnt  the  trash 
in  a  cane-field,  the  aura  vulture  was  sure  to  be 
there,  feeding  on  the  snakes,  lizards,  and  frogs 
which  had  suffered  in  the  conflagration.  I  often 
saw  a  large  bird  (very  much  like  the  common 
gregarious  vulture  at  a  distance)  catch  and  de- 
vour lizards;  after  shooting  one,  it  turned  out  to 
be  not  a  vulture,  but  a  hawk,  with  a  tail  squarer 
and  shorter  than  hawks  have  in  general.  The 
vultures,   like   the   goatsucker   and   woodpecker, 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     225 

seems  to  be  in  disgrace  with  man.  They  are  gen- 
erally termed  a  voracious,  stinking,  cruel,  and 
ignoble  tribe.  Under  these  impressions,  the 
fowler  discharges  his  gun  at  them,  and  probably 
thinks  he  has  done  well  in  ridding  the  earth  of 
such  vermin. 

Some  governments  impose  a  fine  on  him  who 
kills  a  vulture.  This  is  a  salutary  law,  and  it 
were  to  be  wished  that  other  governments  would 
follow  so  good  an  example.  I  would  fain  here  say 
a  word  or  two  in  favour  of  this  valuable  scavenger. 

Kind  Providence  has  conferred  a  blessing  on 
hot  countries  in  giving  them  the  vulture;  he  has 
ordered  it  to  consume  that  which,  if  left  to  dis- 
solve in  putrefaction,  would  infect  the  air,  and 
produce  a  pestilence.  When  full  of  food,  the  vul- 
ture certainly  appears  an  indolent  bird;  he  will 
stand  for  hours  together  on  the  branch  of  a  tree, 
or  on  the  top  of  a  house,  with  his  wings  droop- 
ing, and,  after  rain,  with  them  spread  and  ele- 
vated to  catch  the  rays  of  the  sun.  It  has  been 
remarked  by  naturalists,  that  the  flight  of  this 
bird  is  laborious.  I  have  paid  attention  to  the 
vulture  in  Andalusia,  and  to  those  in  Guiana, 
Brazil,  and  the  West  Indies,  and  conclude  that 
they  are  birds  of  long,  even,  and  lofty  flight.  In- 
deed, whoever  has  observed  the  aura  vulture,  will 
be  satisfied  that  his  flight  is  wonderfully  majestic, 
and  of  long  continuance. 

The  bird  is  above  five  feet  from  wing  to  wing 
extended.  You  will  see  it  soaring  aloft  in  the 
aerial  expanse  on  pinions  which  never  flutter,  and 
which  at  the  same  time  carry  him  through  the 
fields  of  ether  with  a  rapidity  equal  to  that  of  the 
15 


226     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

golden  eagle.  In  Paramaribo  the  laws  protect 
the  vulture,  and  the  Spaniards  of  Angustura 
never  think  of  molesting  him.  In  1808,  I  saw  the 
vultures  in  that  city  as  tame  as  domestic  fowls; 
a  person  who  had  never  seen  a  vulture  would 
have  taken  them  for  turkeys.  They  are  very  use- 
ful to  the  Spaniards ;  and  had  it  not  been  for 
them,  the  refuse  of  the  slaughter-houses  in 
Angustura  would  have  caused  an  intolerable 
nuisance. 

The  common  black,  short,  square-tailed  vulture 
is  gregarious ;  but  the  aura  vulture  is  not  so ;  for, 
though  you  may  see  fifteen  or  twenty  of  them 
feeding  on  the  dead  vermin  in  a  cane-field,  after 
the  trash  has  been  set  fire  to,  still,  if  you  have 
paid  attention  to  their  arrival,  you  will  have 
observed  that  they  came  singly  and  retired  singly, 
and  thus  their  being  all  together  in  the  same 
field  was  merely  accidental,  and  caused  by  each 
one  smelling  the  effluvia  as  he  was  soaring  through 
the  sky  to  look  out  for  food.  I  have  watched 
twenty  come  into  a  cane-field;  they  arrived  one 
by  one,  and  from  different  parts  of  the  heavens. 
Hence  we  may  conclude,  that  though  the  other 
species  of  vulture  are  gregarious,  the  aura  vul- 
ture is  not. 

If  you  dissect  a  vulture  that  has  just  been  feed- 
ing on  carrion,  you  must  expect  that  your  olfac- 
tory nerves  will  be  somewhat  offended  with  the 
rank  effluvia  from  his  craw;  just  as  they  would 
be  were  you  to  dissect  a  citizen  after  the  Lord 
Mayor's  dinner.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  vulture 
be  empty  at  the  time  you  commence  the  opera- 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    227 

tion,  there  will  be  no  offensive  smell,  but  a  strong 
scent  of  mnsk. 

I  had  long  wished  to  examine  the  native  haunts 
of  the  Cayman;  but  as  the  river  Demerara  did 
not  afford  a  specimen  of  the  large  kind,  I  was 
obliged  to  go  to  the  river  Essequibo  to  look  for 
one. 

I  got  the  canoe  ready,  and  went  down  in  it  to 
George-town;  where,  having  put  in  the  necessary 
articles  for  the  expedition,  not  forgetting  a  couple 
of  large  shark-hooks,  with  chains  attached  to 
them,  and  a  coil  of  strong  new  rope,  I  hoisted  a 
little  sail,  which  I  had  got  made  on  purpose,  and 
at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  shaped  our  course 
for  the  river  Essequibo.  I  had  put  a  pair  of 
shoes  on  to  prevent  the  tar  at  the  bottom  of  the 
canoe  from  sticking  to  my  feet.  The  sun  was 
flaming  hot,  and  from  eleven  o'clock  till  two  beat 
perpendicularly  upon  the  top  of  my  feet,  betwixt 
the  shoes  and  the  trousers.  Not  feeling  it  dis- 
agreeable, or  being  in  the  least  aware  of  painful 
consequences,  as  I  had  been  barefoot  for  months, 
I  neglected  to  put  on  a  pair  of  short  stockings 
which  I  had  with  me.  I  did  not  reflect,  that  sit- 
ting still  in  one  place,  with  your  feet  exposed  to 
the  sun,  was  very  different  from  being  exposed 
to  the  sun  while  in  motion. 

We  went  ashore  in  the  Essequibo,  about  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  to  choose  a  place  for  the 
night's  residence,  to  collect  firewood,  and  to  set 
the  fish-hooks.  It  was  then  that  I  first  began  to 
find  my  legs  very  painful :  they  soon  became  much 
inflamed  and  red  and  blistered;  and  it  required 
considerable  caution   not   to   burst   the   blisters, 


228     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

otherwise  sores  would  have  ensued.  I  imme- 
diately got  into  the  hammock,  and  there  passed 
a  painful  and  sleepless  night,  and  for  two  days 
after  I  was  disabled  from  walking. 

About  midnight,  as  I  was  lying  awake,  and  in 
great  pain,  I  heard  the  Indian  say,  ^'Massa, 
massa,  you  no  hear  tiger?'*  I  listened  atten- 
tively, and  heard  the  softly  sounding  tread  of  his 
feet  as  he  approached  us.  The  moon  had  gone 
down;  but  every  now  and  then  we  could  get  a 
glance  of  him  by  the  light  of  our  fire :  he  was  the 
jaguar,  for  I  could  see  the  spots  on  his  body. 
Had  I  wished  to  have  fired  at  him,  I  was  not  able 
to  take  a  sure  aim,  for  I  was  in  such  pain  that  I 
could  not  turn  myself  in  my  hammock.  The 
Indian  would  have  fired,  but  I  would  not  allow 
him  to  do  so,  as  I  wanted  to  see  a  little  more  of 
our  new  visitor;  for  it  is  not  every  day  or  night 
that  the  traveller  is  favoured  with  an  undisturbed 
sight  of  the  juguar  in  his  own  forests. 

Whenever  the  fire  got  low,  the  jaguar  came  a 
little  nearer,  and  when  the  Indian  renewed  it,  he 
retired  abruptly ;  sometimes  he  would  come  within 
twenty  yards,  and  then  we  had  a  view  of  him, 
sitting  on  his  hind  legs  like  a  dog;  sometimes  he 
moved  slowly  to  and  fro,  and  at  other  times  we 
could  hear  him  mend  his  pace,  as  if  impatient. 
At  last  the  Indian,  not  relishing  the  idea  of  hav- 
ing such  company  in  the  neighbourhood,  could 
contain  himself  no  longer,  and  set  up  a  most 
tremendous  yell.  The  jaguar  bounded  off  like  a 
racehorse,  and  returned  no  more ;  it  appeared  by 
the  print  of  his  feet  the  next  morning  that  he  was 
a  full-grown  jaguar. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    229 

In  two  days  after  this  we  got  to  the  first  falls 
in  the  Essequibo.  There  was  a  superb  barrier  of 
rocks  quite  across  the  river.  In  the  rainy  season 
these  rocks  are  for  the  most  part  under  water; 
but  it  being  now  dry  weather,  we  had  a  fine  view 
of  them,  while  the  water  from  the  river  above 
them  rushed  through  the  different  openings  in 
majestic  grandeur.  Here,  on  a  little  hill,  jutting 
out  into  the  river,  stands  the  house  of  Mrs. 
Peterson,  the  last  house  of  people  of  colour  up 
this  river;  I  hired  a  negro  from  her,  and  a  col- 
oured man,  who  pretended  that  they  knew  the 
haunts  of  the  cayman,  and  understood  everything 
about  taking  him.  We  were  a  day  in  passing 
these  falls  and  rapids,  celebrated  for  the  Pacou, 
the  richest  and  most  delicious  fish  in  Guiana. 
The  coloured  man  was  now  in  his  element;  he 
stood  in  the  head  of  the  canoe,  and  with  his  bow 
and  arrow  shot  the  pacou  as  they  were  swimming 
in  the  stream.  The  arrow  had  scarcely  left  the 
bow  before  he  had  plunged  headlong  into  the 
river,  and  seized  the  fish  as  it  was  struggling  with 
it.  He  dived  and  swam  like  an  otter,  and  rarely 
missed  the  fish  he  aimed  at. 

Did  my  pen,  gentle  reader,  possess  descriptive 
powers,  I  would  here  give  thee  an  idea  of  the 
enchanting  scenery  of  the  Essequibo ;  but  that  not 
being  the  case,  thou  must  be  contented  with  a 
moderate  and  well-intended  attempt. 

Nothing  could  be  more  lovely  than  the  appear- 
ance of  the  forest  on  each  side  of  this  noble  river. 
Hills  rose  on  hills  in  fine  gradation,  all  covered 
with  trees  of  gigantic  height  and  size.  Here  their 
leaves  were  of  a  lively  purple,  and  there  of  the 


230    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

deepest  green.  Sometimes  the  Caracara  ex- 
tended its  scarlet  blossoms  from  branch  to  branch, 
and  gave  the  tree  the  appearance  as  though  it  had 
been  hung  with  garlands. 

This  delightful  scenery  of  the  Essequibo  made 
the  soul  overflow  with  joy,  and  caused  you  to  rove 
in  fancy  through  fairy-land;  till,  on  turning  an 
angle  in  the  river,  you  were  recalled  to  more 
sober  reflections  on  seeing  the  once  grand  and 
towering  mora,  now  dead  and  ragged  in  its  top- 
most branches,  while  its  aged  trunk,  undermined 
by  the  rushing  torrent,  hung  as  though  in  sorrow 
over  the  river,  which,  ere  long,  would  receive  it, 
and  sweep  it  away  forever. 

During  the  day,  the  trade-wind  blew  a  gentle  and 
refreshing  breeze,  which  died  away  as  the  night 
set  in,  and  then  the  river  was  as  smooth  as  glass. 

The  moon  was  within  three  days  of  being  full, 
so  that  we  did  not  regret  the  loss  of  the  sun, 
which  set  in  all  its  splendour.  Scarce  had  he 
sunk  behind  the  western  hills,  when  the  Goat- 
suckers sent  forth  their  soft  and  plaintive  cries; 
some  often  repeating,  "Who  are  you — who,  who, 
who  are  youf"  and  others,  "Willy,  Willy,  Willy 
come  go." 

The  Indian  and  Daddy  Quashi  often  shook 
their  heads  at  this,  and  said  they  were  bringing 
talk  from  Yabahou,  who  is  the  evil  spirit  of  the 
Essequibo.  It  was  delightful  to  sit  on  the  branch 
of  a  fallen  tree,  near  the  water's  edge,  and  listen 
to  these  harmless  birds  as  they  repeated  their 
evening  song;  and  watch  the  owls  and  vampires 
as  they  every  now  and  then  passed  up  and  down 
the  river. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     231 

The  next  day,  about  noon,  as  we  were  proceed- 
ing onwards,  we  heard  the  Campanero  tolling  in 
the  depth  of  the  forest.  Though  I  should  not  then 
have  stopped  to  dissect  even  a  rare  bird,  having 
a  greater  object  in  view,  still  I  could  not  resist 
the  opportunity  offered  of  acquiring  the  cam- 
panero. The  place  where  he  was  tolling  was  low 
and  swampy,  and  my  legs  not  having  quite  re- 
covered from  the  effects  of  the  sun,  I  sent  the 
Indian  to  shoot  the  campanero.  He  got  up  to  the 
tree,  which  he  described  as  very  high,  with  a 
naked  top,  and  situated  in  a  swamp.  He  fired  at 
the  bird,  but  either  missed  it,  or  did  not  wound  it 
sufficiently  to  bring  it  down.  This  was  the  only 
opportunity  I  had  of  getting  a  campanero  during 
this  expedition.  We  had  never  heard  one  toll 
before  this  morning,  and  never  heard  one  after. 


CHAPTER   IV 

About  an  hour  before  sunset,  we  reached  the 
place  which  the  two  men  who  had  joined  us  at  the 
falls  pointed  out  as  a  proper  one  to  find  a  Cay- 
man. There  was  a  large  creek  close  by,  and  a 
sand-bank  gently  sloping  to  the  water.  Just 
within  the  forest  on  this  bank,  we  cleared  a  place 
of  brushwood,  suspended  the  hammocks  from  the 
trees,  and  then  picked  up  enough  of  decayed 
wood  for  fuel. 

The  Indian  found  a  large  land  tortoise,  and 
this,  with  plenty  of  fresh  fish  which  we  had  in  the 
canoe,  afforded  a  supper  not  to  be  despised. 

The  tigers  had  kept  up  a  continued  roaring 
every  night  since  we  had  entered  the  Essequibo. 
The  sound  was  awfully  fine.  Sometimes  it  was 
in  the  immediate  neighbourhood;  at  other  times 
it  was  far  off,  and  echoed  amongst  the  hills  like 
distant  thunder. 

It  may,  perhaps,  not  be  amiss  to  observe  here, 
that  when  the  word  tiger  is  used,  it  does  not 
mean  the  Bengal  tiger.  It  means  the  jaguar, 
whose  skin  is  beautifully  spotted,  and  not  striped 
like  that  of  the  tiger  in  the  East.  It  is,  in  fact, 
the  tiger  of  the  new  world,  and  receiving  the  name 
of  tiger  from  the  discoverers  of  South  America, 
it  has  kept  it  ever  since.  It  is  a  cruel,  strong, 
and  dangerous  beast,  but  not  so  courageous  as 
the  Bengal  tiger. 

282 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    233 

We  now  baited  a  shark-hook  with  a  large  fish, 
and  put  it  upon  a  board  about  a  yard  long,  and 
one  foot  broad,  whicli  we  had  brought  on  purpose. 
This  board  was  carried  out  in  the  canoe,  about 
forty  yards  into  the  river.  By  means  of  a  string, 
long  enough  to  reach  the  bottom  of  the  river,  and 
at  the  end  of  which  string  was  fastened  a  stone, 
the  board  was  kept,  as  it  were,  at  anchor.  One 
end  of  the  new  rope  I  had  bought  in  town  was 
reeved  through  the  chain  of  the  shark-hook,  and 
the  other  end  fastened  to  a  tree  on  the  sand-bank. 

It  was  now  an  hour  after  sunset.  The  sky  was 
cloudless,  and  the  moon  shone  beautifully  bright. 
There  was  not  a  breath  of  wind  in  the  heavens, 
and  the  river  seemed  like  a  large  plain  of  quick- 
silver. Every  now  and  then  a  huge  fish  would 
strike  and  plunge  in  the  water ;  then  the  owls  and 
goatsuckers  would  continue  their  lamentations, 
and  the  sound  of  these  was  lost  in  the  prowling 
tiger's  growl.  Then  all  was  still  again,  and  silent 
as  midnight. 

The  caymen  were  now  upon  the  stir,  and  at 
intervals  their  noise  could  be  distinguished  amid 
that  of  the  jaguar,  the  owls,  the  goatsuckers,  and 
frogs.  It  was  a  singular  and  awful  sound.  It 
was  like  a  suppressed  sigh,  bursting  forth  all  of 
a  sudden,  and  so  loud  that  you  might  hear  it 
above  a  mile  off.  First  one  emitted  this  horrible 
noise,  and  then  another  answered  him;  and  on 
looking  at  the  countenances  of  the  people  around 
me,  I  could  plainly  see  that  they  expected  to  have 
a  cayman  that  night. 

We  were  at  supper,  when  the  Indian,  who 
seemed  to  have  had  one  eye  on  the  turtle-pot  and 


234     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

the  other  on  the  bait  in  the  river,  said  he  saw  the 
cajTnan  coming. 

Upon  looking  towards  the  place,  there  appeared 
something  on  the  water  like  a  black  log  of  wood. 
It  was  so  unlike  anything  alive,  that  I  doubted 
if  it  were  a  cayman;  but  the  Indian  smiled,  and 
said  he  was  sure  it  was  one,  for  he  remembered 
seeing  a  cayman,  some  years  ago,  when  he  was  in 
the  Essequibo. 

At  last  it  gradually  approached  the  bait,  and 
the  board  began  to  move.  The  moon  shone  so 
bright  that  we  could  distinctly  see  him  open  his 
huge  jaws,  and  take  in  the  bait.  We  pulled  the 
rope.  He  immediately  let  drop  the  bait;  and 
then  we  saw  his  black  head  retreating  from  the 
board,  to  the  distance  of  a  few  yards,  and  there  it 
remained  quite  motionless. 

He  did  not  seem  inclined  to  advance  again; 
and  so  we  finished  our  supper.  In  about  an  hour's 
time  he  again  put  himself  in  motion,  and  took 
hold  of  the  bait.  But,  probably,  suspecting  that 
he  had  to  deal  with  knaves  and  cheats,  he  held  it 
in  his  mouth  but  did  not  swallow  it.  We  pulled 
the  rope  again,  but  with  no  better  success  than 
the  first  time. 

He  retreated  as  usual,  and  came  back  again  in 
about  an  hour.  We  paid  him  every  attention  till 
three  o  'clock  in  the  morning ;  when,  worn  out  with 
disappointment,  we  went  to  the  hammocks,  turned 
in,  and  fell  asleep. 

WTien  day  broke,  we  found  that  he  had  con- 
trived to  get  the  bait  from  the  hook,  though  we 
had  tied  it  on  with  string.  We  had  now  no  more 
hopes  of  taking  a  cayman  till  the  return  of  night. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     235 

The  Indian  took  off  into  the  woods,  and  brought 
back  a  noble  supply  of  game.  The  rest  of  us  went 
into  the  canoe,  and  proceeded  up  the  river  to 
shoot  fish.    We  got  even  more  than  we  could  use. 

As  we  approachd  the  shallows,  we  could  see 
the  large  Sting-rays  moving  at  the  bottom.  The 
coloured  man  never  failed  to  hit  them  with  his 
arrow.  The  weather  was  delightful.  There  was 
scarcely  a  cloud  to  intercept  the  sun's  rays. 

I  saw  several  scarlet  aras,  anihingas,  and 
ducks,  but  could  not  get  a  shot  at  them.  The 
parrots  crossed  the  river  in  innumerable  quan- 
tities, always  flying  in  pairs.  Here,  too,  I  saw 
the  Sun-bird,  called  Tirana  by  the  Spaniards  in 
the  Oroonoque,  and  shot  one  of  them.  The  black 
and  white  Scarlet-headed  Finch  was  very  com- 
mon here.  I  could  never  see  this  bird  in  the 
Demerara,  nor  hear  of  its  being  there. 

We  at  last  came  to  a  large  sand-bank,  probably 
two  miles  in  circumference.  As  we  approached 
it  we  could  see  two  or  three  hundred  Fresh-water 
Turtle  on  the  edge  of  the  bank.  Ere  we  could 
get  near  enough  to  let  fly  an  arrow  at  them,  they 
had  all  sunk  into  the  river  and  appeared  no  more. 

We  went  on  the  sand-bank  to  look  for  their 
nests,  as  this  was  the  breeding  season.  The 
coloured  man  showed  us  how  to  find  them. 
Wherever  a  portion  of  the  sand  seemed  smoother 
than  the  rest,  there  was  sure  to  be  a  turtle's  nest. 
On  digging  down  with  our  hands,  about  nine 
inches  deep,  we  found  from  twenty  to  thirty  white 
eggs ;  in  less  than  an  hour  we  got  about  two  hun- 
dred. Those  which  had  a  little  black  spot  or  two 
on  the  shell  we  ate  the  same  day,  as  it  was  a  sign 


236     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

that  they  were  not  fresh,  and  of  course  would  not 
keep :  those  which  had  no  speck  were  put  into  dry 
sand,  and  were  good  some  weeks  after. 

At  midnight,  two  of  our  people  went  to  this 
sand-bank,  while  the  rest  stayed  to  watch  the 
cayman.  The  turtle  had  advanced  on  to  the  sand 
to  lay  their  eggs,  and  the  men  got  betwixt  them 
and  the  water ;  they  brought  off  half  a  dozen  very 
fine  and  well-fed  turtle.  The  egg-shell  of  the 
fresh-water  turtle  is  not  hard  like  that  of  the  land 
tortoise,  but  appears  like  white  parchment  and 
gives  way  to  the  pressure  of  the  fingers;  but  it 
is  very  tough,  and  does  not  break.  On  this  sand- 
bank, close  to  the  forest,  we  found  several  Guana's 
nests;  but  they  had  never  more  than  fourteen 
eggs  a-piece.  Thus  passed  the  day  in  exercise 
and  knowledge,  till  the  sun's  declining  orb  re- 
minded us  it  was  time  to  return  to  the  place  from 
whence  we  had  set  out. 

The  second  night's  attempt  upon  the  cayman 
was  a  repetition  of  the  first,  quite  unsuccessful. 
We  went  a  fishing  the  day  after,  had  excellent 
sport,  and  returned  to  experience  a  third  night's 
disappointment.  On  the  fourth  evening,  about 
four  o'clock,  we  began  to  erect  a  stage  amongst 
the  trees,  close  to  the  water's  edge.  From  this 
we  intended  to  shoot  an  arrow  into  the  cayman: 
at  the  end  of  this  arrow  was  to  be  attached  a 
string,  which  would  be  tied  to  the  rope,  and  as 
soon  as  the  cayman  was  struck  we  were  to  have 
the  canoe  ready  and  pursue  him  in  the  river. 

Wliile  we  were  busy  in  preparing  the  stage,  a 
tiger  began  to  roar.  We  judged  by  the  sound 
that  he  was  not  above  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 


■An  immense  Jaguar,  staindng  on  tlie  Trunk  or  an  agi'il  Mora-tree 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     237 

us,  and  that  he  was  close  to  the  side  of  the  river. 
Unfortunately,  the  Indian  said  it  was  not  a  jaguar 
that  was  roaring,  but  a  couguar.  The  couguar  is 
of  a  pale,  brownish  red  colour,  and  not  as  large 
as  the  jaguar.  As  there  was  nothing  particular 
in  this  animal,  I  thought  it  better  to  attend  to  the 
apparatus  for  catching  the  cayman  than  to  go  in 
quest  of  the  couguar.  The  people,  however,  went 
in  the  canoe  to  the  place  where  the  couguar  was 
roaring.  On  arriving  near  the  spot,  they  saw  it 
was  not  a  couguar,  but  an  immense  jaguar,  stand- 
ing on  the  trunk  of  an  aged  mora-tree,  which 
bended  over  the  river;  he  growled  and  showed 
his  teeth  as  they  approached;  the  coloured  man 
fired  at  him  with  a  ball,  but  probably  missed  him, 
and  the  tiger  instantly  descended,  and  took  off 
into  the  woods.  I  went  to  the  place  before  dark, 
and  we  searched  the  forest  for  about  half  a  mile 
in  the  direction  he  had  fled,  but  we  could  see  no 
traces  of  him,  or  any  marks  of  blood;  so  I  con- 
cluded that  fear  had  prevented  the  man  from  tak- 
ing steady  aim. 

We  spent  best  part  of  the  fourth  night  in  try- 
ing for  the  cayman,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  I  was 
now  convinced  that  something  was  materially 
wrong.  We  ought  to  have  been  successful,  con- 
sidering our  vigilance  and  attention,  and  that  we 
had  repeatedly  seen  the  cayman.  It  was  useless 
to  tarry  here  any  longer ;  moreover,  the  coloured 
man  began  to  take  airs,  and  fancied  that  I  could 
not  do  without  him.  I  never  admit  of  this  in  any 
expedition  where  I  am  commander ;  and  so  I  con- 
vinced the  man,  to  his  sorrow,  that  I  could  do 
without  him;  for  I  paid  him  what  I  had  agreed 


238     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

to  give  him,  which  amounted  to  eight  dollars,  and 
ordered  him  back  in  his  own  curial  to  Mrs.  Peter- 
son's, on  the  hill  at  the  first  falls.  I  then  asked 
the  negro  if  there  were  any  Indian  settlements  in 
the  neighbourhood ;  he  said  he  knew  of  one,  a  day 
and  a  half  off.  We  went  in  quest  of  it,  and  about 
one  o'clock  the  next  day  the  negro  showed  us  the 
creek  where  it  was. 

The  entrance  was  so  concealed  by  thick  bushes 
that  a  stranger  would  have  passed  it  without 
knowing  it  to  be  a  creek.  In  going  up  it  we 
found  it  dark,  winding,  and  intricate  beyond  any 
creek  that  I  had  ever  seen  before.  When  Orpheus 
came  back  with  his  young  wife  from  Styx,  his 
path  must  have  been  similar  to  this,  for  Ovid 
says  it  was 

"Arduus,  obliquus,  ealigine  densus  opaca,** 

and  this  creek  was  exactly  so. 

When  we  had  got  about  two-thirds  up  it,  we 
met  the  Indians  going  a  fishing.  I  saw,  by  the 
way  their  things  were  packed  in  the  curial,  that 
they  did  not  intend  to  return  for  some  days. 
However,  on  telling  them  what  we  wanted,  and 
by  promising  handsome  presents  of  powder,  shot, 
and  hooks,  they  dropped  their  expedition,  and 
invited  us  up  to  the  settlement  they  had  just  left, 
and  where  we  laid  in  a  provision  of  cassava. 

They  gave  us  for  dinner  boiled  ant-bear  and 
red  monkey;  two  dishes  unknown  even  at  Beau- 
villiers  in  Paris,  or  at  a  London  city  feast.  The 
monkey  was  very  good  indeed,  but  the  ant-bear 
had  been  kept  beyond  its  time;  it  stunk,  as  our 
venison  does  in  England ;  and  so,  after  tasting  it, 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     239 

I  preferred  dining  entirely  on  monkey.  After 
resting  here,  we  went  back  to  the  river.  The  In- 
dians, three  in  number,  accompanied  us  in  their 
own  curial,  and,  on  entering  the  river,  pointed  to 
a  place  a  little  way  above,  well  calculated  to  har- 
bour a  cayman.  The  water  was  deep  and  still, 
and  flanked  by  an  immense  sand-bank ;  there  was 
also  a  little  shallow  creek  close  by. 

On  this  sand-bank,  near  the  forest,  the  people 
made  a  shelter  for  the  night.  My  own  was 
already  made;  for  I  always  take  with  me  a 
painted  sheet,  about  twelve  feet  by  ten.  This, 
thrown  over  a  pole,  supported  betwixt  two  trees, 
makes  you  a  capital  roof  with  very  little  trouble. 

"We  showed  one  of  the  Indians  the  shark-hook. 
He  shook  his  head  and  laughed  at  it,  and  said  it 
would  not  do.  Wlien  he  was  a  boy,  he  had  seen 
his  father  catch  the  caymen,  and  on  the  morrow 
he  would  make  something  that  would  answer. 

In  the  meantime,  we  set  the  shark-hook,  but  it 
availed  us  nought;  a  cayman  came  and  took  it, 
but  would  not  swallow  it. 

Seeing  it  was  useless  to  attend  the  shark-hook 
any  longer,  we  left  it  for  the  night,  and  returned 
to  our  hammocks. 

Ere  I  fell  asleep,  a  reflection  or  two  broke  in 
upon  me.  I  considered,  that  as  far  as  the  judg- 
ment of  civilized  man  went,  everything  had  been 
procured  and  done  to  ensure  success.  We  had 
hooks,  and  lines,  and  baits,  and  patience;  we  had 
spent  nights  in  watching,  had  seen  the  cayman 
come  and  take  the  bait,  and  after  our  expecta- 
tions had  been  wound  up  to  the  highest  pitch,  all 
ended   in   disappointment.    Probably   this   poor 


240     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

wild  man  of  the  woods  would  succeed  by  means 
of  a  very  simple  process;  and  thus  prove  to  his 
more  civilized  brother  that,  notwithstanding  books 
and  schools,  there  is  a  vast  deal  of  knowledge  to 
be  picked  up  at  every  step,  whichever  way  we 
turn  ourselves. 

In  the  morning,  as  usual,  we  found  the  bait 
gone  from  the  shark-hook.  The  Indians  went 
into  the  forest  to  hunt,  and  we  took  the  canoe  to 
shoot  fish  and  get  another  supply  of  turtle's  eggs, 
which  we  found  in  great  abundance  on  this  large 
sand-bank. 

We  went  to  the  little  shallow  creek,  and  shot 
some  young  caymen,  about  two  feet  long.  It  was 
astonishing  to  see  what  spite  and  rage  these  little 
things  showed  when  the  arrow  struck  them;  they 
turned  round  and  bit  it,  and  snapped  at  us  when 
we  went  into  the  water  to  take  them  up.  Daddy 
Quashi  boiled  one  of  them  for  his  dinner,  and 
found  it  very  sweet  and  tender.  I  do  not  see 
why  it  should  not  be  as  good  as  frog  or  veal. 

The  day  was  now  declining  apace,  and  the  In- 
dian had  made  his  instrument  to  take  the  cayman. 
It  was  very  simple.  There  were  four  pieces  of 
tough  hard  wood,  a  foot  long,  and  about  as  thick 
as  your  little  finger,  and  barbed  at  both  ends; 
they  were  tied  round  the  end  of  the  rope,  in  such 
a  manner,  that  if  you  conceive  the  rope  to  be  an 
arrow,  these  four  sticks  would  form  the  arrow's 
head;  so  that  one  end  of  the  four  united  sticks 
answered  to  the  point  of  the  arrow-head,  while 
the  other  ends  of  the  sticks  expanded  at  equal 
distances  round  the  rope.  Now  it  is  evident,  that 
if  the  cayman  swallowed  this  (the  other  end  of 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     241 

the  rope,  whicli  was  thirty  yards  long,  being  fas- 
tened to  a  tree),  the  more  he  pulled,  the  faster 
the  barbs  would  stick  into  his  stomach.  This 
wooden  hook,  if  you  may  so  call  it,  was  well  baited 
with  the  flesh  of  the  acouri,  and  the  entrails  were 
twisted  round  the  rope  for  about  a  foot  above  it. 

Nearly  a  mile  from  where  we  had  our  ham- 
mocks, the  sand-bank  was  steep  and  abrupt,  and 
the  river  very  still  and  deep;  there  the  Indian 
pricked  a  stick  into  the  sand.  It  was  two  feet 
long,  and  on  its  extremity  was  fixed  the  machine ; 
it  hung  suspended  about  a  foot  from  the  water, 
and  the  end  of  the  rope  was  made  fast  to  a  stake 
driven  well  into  the  sand. 

The  Indian  then  took  the  empty  shell  of  a  land 
tortoise  and  gave  it  some  heavy  blows  with  an 
axe.  I  asked  him  why  he  did  that.  He  said  it 
was  to  let  the  cajTuan  hear  that  something  was 
going  on.  In  fact  the  Indian  meant  it  as  the 
cayman's  dinner-bell. 

Having  done  this,  we  went  back  to  the  ham- 
mocks, not  intending  to  visit  it  again  till  morning. 
During  the  night,  the  jaguars  roared  and  grum- 
bled in  the  forest,  as  though  the  world  was  going 
wrong  with  them,  and  at  intervals  we  could  hear 
the  distant  cayman.  The  roaring  of  the  jaguars 
was  awful ;  but  it  was  music  to  the  dismal  noise 
of  these  hideous  and  malicious  reptiles. 

About  half -past  five  in  the  morning,  the  Indian 
stole  off  silently  to  take  a  look  at  the  bait.  On 
arriving  at  the  place  he  set  up  a  tremendous 
shout.  We  all  jumped  out  of  our  hammocks,  and 
ran  to  him.  The  Indians  got  there  before  me,  for 
they  had  no  clothes  to  put  on,  and  I  lost  two 

16 


242     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

minutes  in  looking  for  my  trousers  and  in  slip- 
ping into  them. 

We  found  a  cayman,  ten  feet  and  a  half  long, 
fast  to  the  end  of  the  rope.  Nothing  now  re- 
mained to  do,  but  to  get  him  out  of  the  water 
without  injuring  his  scales,  "hoc  opus,  hie  labor." 
We  mustered  strong:  there  were  three  Indians 
from  the  creek,  there  was  my  own  Indian  Yan, 
Daddy  Quashi,  the  negro  from  Mrs.  Peterson's, 
James,  Mr.  R.  Edmonstone's  man,  whom  I  was 
instructing  to  preserve  birds,  and  lastly,  myself. 

I  informed  the  Indians  that  it  was  my  intention 
to  draw  him  quietly  out  of  the  water,  and  then 
secure  him.  They  looked  and  stared  at  each  other, 
and  said  I  might  do  it  myself;  but  they  would 
have  no  hand  in  it ;  the  cayman  would  worry  some 
of  us.  On  saying  this,  "consedere  duces,"  they 
squatted  on  their  hams  with  the  most  perfect  in- 
difference. 

The  Indians  of  these  wilds  have  never  been 
subject  to  the  least  restraint;  and  I  knew  enough 
of  them  to  be  aware,  that  if  I  tried  to  force  them 
against  their  will,  they  would  take  off,  and  leave 
me  and  my  presents  unheeded  and  never  return. 

Daddy  Quashi  was  for  applying  to  our  guns,  as 
usual,  considering  them  our  best  and  safest 
friends.  I  immediately  offered  to  knock  him  down 
for  his  cowardice,  and  he  shrunk  back,  begging 
that  I  would  be  cautious,  and  not  get  myself 
worried;  and  apologizing  for  his  own  want  of 
resolution.  My  Indian  was  now  in  conversation 
with  the  others,  and  they  asked  if  I  would  allow 
them  to  shoot  a  dozen  arrows  into  him,  and  thus 
disable  him.    This  would  have  ruined  all.    I  had 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     243 

come  above  three  hundred  miles  on  purpose  to 
get  a  cayman  uninjured,  and  not  to  carry  back 
a  mutilated  specimen.  I  rejected  their  proposi- 
tion with  firmness,  and  darted  a  disdainful  eye 
upon  the  Indians. 

Daddy  Quashi  was  again  beginning  to  remon- 
strate, and  I  chased  him  on  the  sand-bank  for  a 
quarter  of  a  mile.  He  told  me  afterwards,  he 
thought  he  should  have  dropped  down  dead  with 
fright,  for  he  was  firmly  persuaded,  if  I  had 
caught  him,  I  should  have  bundled  him  into  the 
cayman's  jaws.  Here  then  we  stood,  in  silence, 
like  a  calm  before  a  thunder-storm.  "Hoc  res 
summa  loco.  Scinditur  in  contraria  \nilgus." 
They  wanted  to  kill  him,  and  I  wanted  to  take 
him  alive. 

I  now  walked  up  and  down  the  sand,  revolving 
a  dozen  projects  in  my  head.  The  canoe  was  at  a 
considerable  distance,  and  I  ordered  the  people 
to  bring  it  round  to  the  place  where  we  were.  The 
mast  was  eight  feet  long,  and  not  much  thicker 
than  my  wrist.  I  took  it  out  of  the  canoe,  and 
wrapped  the  sail  round  the  end  of  it.  Now  it 
appeared  clear  to  me  that  if  I  went  down  upon 
one  knee,  and  held  the  mast  in  the  same  position 
as  the  soldier  holds  his  bayonet  when  rushing  to 
the  charge,  I  could  force  it  down  the  cayman's 
throat,  should  he  come  open-mouthed  at  me. 
When  this  was  told  to  the  Indians,  they  bright- 
ened up,  and  said  they  would  help  me  to  pull  him 
out  of  the  river. 

** Brave  squad!"  said  I  to  myself,  "  'Audax 
omnia  perpeti,'  now  that  you  have  got  me  betwixt 
yourselves  and  danger."     I  then  mustered  all 


244     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

hands  for  the  last  time  before  the  battle.  We 
were,  four  South  American  savages,  two  negroes 
from  Africa,  a  Creole  from  Trinidad,  and  myself 
a  white  man  from  Yorkshire.  In  fact,  a  little 
tower  of  Babel  group,  in  dress,  no  dress,  address, 
and  language. 

Daddy  Quashi  hung  in  the  rear ;  I  showed  him 
a  large  Spanish  knife,  which  I  always  carried  in 
the  waistband  of  my  trousers:  it  spoke  volumes 
to  him,  and  he  shrugged  up  his  shoulders  in  ab- 
solute despair.  The  sun  was  just  peeping  over 
the  high  forests  on  the  eastern  hills,  as  if  coming 
to  look  on,  and  bid  us  act  with  becoming  fortitude. 
I  placed  all  the  people  at  the  end  of  the  rope,  and 
ordered  them  to  pull  till  the  cayman  appeared  on 
the  surface  of  the  water;  and  then,  should  he 
plunge,  to  slacken  the  rope  and  let  him  go  again 
into  the  deep. 

I  now  took  the  mast  of  the  canoe  in  my  hand 
(the  sail  being  tied  round  the  end  of  the  mast) 
and  sunk  down  upon  one  knee,  about  four  yards 
from  the  water's  edge,  determining  to  thrust  it 
down  his  throat,  in  case  he  gave  me  an  oppor- 
tunity. I  certainly  felt  somewhat  uncomfortable 
in  this  situation,  and  I  thought  of  Cerberus  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Styx  ferry.  The  people  pulled 
the  cayman  to  the  surface;  he  plunged  furiously 
as  soon  as  he  arrived  in  these  upper  regions,  and 
immediately  went  below  again  on  their  slacken- 
ing the  rope.  I  saw  enough  not  to  fall  in  love  at 
first  sight.  I  now  told  them  we  would  run  all 
risks,  and  have  him  on  land  immediately.  They 
pulled  again,  and  out  he  came, — ''monstrum  hor- 
rendum,  informe."    This  was  an  interesting  mo- 


)    c; 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    245 

ment.  I  kept  my  position  firmly,  with  my  eye  fixed 
steadfast  on  liim. 

By  tliis  time  the  cayman  was  within  two  yards 
of  me.  I  saw  he  was  in  a  state  of  fear  and  per- 
turbation; I  instantly  dropped  the  mast,  sprang 
up,  and  jumped  on  his  hack,  turning  half  round  as 
I  vaulted,  so  that  I  gained  my  seat  with  my  face 
in  a  right  position.  I  immediately  seized  his  fore- 
legs, and,  by  main  force,  twisted  them  on  his 
back ;  thus  they  served  me  for  a  bridle. 

He  now  seemed  to  have  recovered  from  his 
surprise,  and  probably  fancying  himself  in  hostile 
company,  he  began  to  plunge  furiously,  and 
lashed  the  sand  with  his  long  and  powerful  tail. 
I  was  out  of  reach  of  the  strokes  of  it,  by  being 
near  his  head.  He  continued  to  plunge  and  strike, 
and  made  my  seat  very  uncomfortable.  It  must 
have  been  a  fine  sight  for  an  unoccupied  spectator. 

The  people  roared  out  in  triumph,  and  were 
so  vociferous,  that  it  was  some  time  before  they 
heard  me  tell  them  to  pull  me  and  my  beast  of 
burden  farther  inland.  I  was  apprehensive  the 
rope  might  break,  and  then  there  would  have  been 
every  chance  of  going  down  to  the  regions  under 
water  with  the  cayman.  That  would  have  been 
more  perilous  than  Arion's  marine  morning 
ride : — 

"Delphini  insidens  vada  cserula  sulcat  Arion." 

The  people  now  dragged  us  above  forty  yards 
on  the  sand:  it  was  the  first  and  last  time  I  was 
ever  on  a  cayman's  back.  Should  it  be  asked, 
how  I  managed  to  keep  my  seat,  I  would  answer. 


246    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

— I  hunted  some  years  with  Lord  Darlington's 
fox-hounds. 

After  repeated  attempts  to  regain  his  liberty, 
the  cayman  gave  in,  and  became  tranquil  through 
exhaustion.  I  now  managed  to  tie  up  his  jaws, 
and  firmly  secured  his  fore-feet  in  the  position  I 
had  held  them.  We  had  now  another  severe  strug- 
gle for  superiority,  but  he  was  soon  overcome 
and  again  remained  quiet.  While  some  of  the 
people  were  pressing  upon  his  head  and  shoulders, 
I  threw  myself  on  his  tail,  and  by  keeping  it  down 
to  the  sand,  prevented  him  from  kicking  up  an- 
other dust.  He  was  finally  conveyed  to  the  canoe, 
and  then  to  the  place  where  we  had  suspended 
our  hammocks.  There  I  cut  his  throat ;  and,  after 
breakfast  was  over,  commenced  the  dissection. 

Now  that  the  affray  had  ceased,  Daddy  Quashi 
played  a  good  finger  and  thumb  at  breakfast ;  he 
said  he  found  himself  much  revived,  and  became 
very  talkative  and  useful,  as  there  was  no  longer 
any  danger.  He  was  a  faithful,  honest  negro. 
His  master,  my  worthy  friend  Mr.  Edmonstone, 
had  been  so  obliging  as  to  send  out  particular 
orders  to  the  colony,  that  the  Daddy  should  attend 
me  all  the  time  I  was  in  the  forest.  He  had  lived 
in  the  wilds  of  Demerara  with  Mr.  Edmonstone 
for  many  years;  and  often  amused  me  with  the 
account  of  the  frays  his  master  had  had  in  the 
woods  with  snakes,  wild  beasts,  and  runaway 
negroes.  Old  age  was  now  coming  fast  upon  him ; 
he  had  been  an  able  fellow  in  his  younger  days, 
and  a  gallant  one  too,  for  he  had  a  large  scar 
over  his  eyebrow,  caused  by  the  stroke  of  a  cut- 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    247 

lass,  from  another  negro,  while  the  Daddy  was 
engaged  in  an  intrigue. 

The  back  of  the  cayman  may  be  said  to  be  al- 
most impenetrable  to  a  musket-ball,  but  his  sides 
are  not  near  so  strong,  and  are  easily  pierced 
with  an  arrow;  indeed,  were  they  as  strong  as 
the  back  and  the  belly,  there  would  be  no  part  of 
the  cajTuan's  body  soft  and  elastic  enough  to  ad- 
mit of  expansion  after  taking  in  a  supply  of  food. 

The  cayman  has  no  grinders ;  his  teeth  are  en- 
tirely made  for  snatch  and  swallow;  there  are 
thirty-two  in  each  jaw.  Perhaps  no  animal  in 
existence  bears  more  decided  marks  in  his  coun- 
tenance of  cruelty  and  malice  than  the  cayman. 
He  is  the  scourge  and  terror  of  all  the  large 
rivers  in  South  America  near  the  line. 

One  Sunday  evening,  some  years  ago,  as  I  was 
walking  with  Don  Felipe  de  Ynciarte,  governor  of 
Angustura,  on  the  bank  of  the  Oroonoque,  ' '  Stop 
here  a  minute  or  two,  Don  Carlos,"  said  he  to 
me,  ''while  I  recount  a  sad  accident.  One  fine 
evening  last  year,  as  the  people  of  Angustura 
were  sauntering  up  and  down  here,  in  the  Ala- 
meda, I  was  within  twenty  yards  of  this  place, 
when  I  saW'  a  large  cayman  rush  out  of  the  river, 
seize  a  man,  and  carry  him  down,  before  anybody 
had  it  in  his  power  to  assist  him.  The  screams 
of  the  poor  fellow  were  terrible  as  the  cayman 
was  running  off  with  him.  He  plunged  into  the 
river  with  his  prey;  we  instantly  lost  sight  of 
him,  and  never  saw  or  heard  him  more." 

T  was  a  day  and  a  half  in  dissecting  our  cay- 
man, and  then  we  all  got  ready  to  return  to 
Demerara. 


248    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

It  was  much  more  perilous  to  descend  than  to 
ascend  the  falls  in  the  Essequibo. 

The  place  we  had  to  pass  had  proved  fatal  to 
four  Indians  about  a  month  before.  The  water 
foamed,  and  dashed  and  boiled,  amongst  the 
steep  and  craggy  rocks,  and  seemed  to  warn  us 
to  be  careful  how  we  ventured  there. 

I  was  for  all  hands  to  get  out  of  the  canoe,  and 
then  after  lashing  a  long  rope  ahead  and  astern, 
we  might  have  climbed  from  rock  to  rock,  and 
tempered  her  in  her  passage  down,  and  our  get- 
ting out  would  have  lightened  her  much.  But  the 
negro  who  had  joined  us  at  Mrs.  Peterson's  said 
he  was  sure  it  would  be  safer  to  stay  in  the 
canoe  while  she  went  down  the  fall.  I  was  loath 
to  give  way  to  him ;  but  I  did  so  this  time  against 
my  better  judgment,  as  he  assured  me  that  he  was 
accustomed  to  pass  and  repass  these  falls. 

Accordingly  we  determined  to  push  down:  I 
was  at  the  helm,  the  rest  at  their  paddles.  But 
before  we  got  half  way  through,  the  rushing 
waters  deprived  the  canoe  of  all  power  of  steer- 
age, and  she  became  the  sport  of  the  torrent ;  in  a 
second  she  was  half  full  of  water,  and  I  cannot 
comprehend  to  this  day  why  she  did  not  go  down ; 
luckily  the  people  exerted  themselves  to  the  ut- 
most,— she  got  headway,  and  they  pulled  through 
the  whirlpool ;  I  being  quite  in  the  stern  of  the 
canoe,  part  of  a  wave  struck  me,  and  nearly 
knocked  me  overboard. 

We  now  paddled  to  some  rocks  at  a  distance, 
got  out,  unloaded  the  canoe,  and  dried  the  cargo  in 
the  sun,  which  was  very  hot  and  powerful.    Had 


'The  wiiter   t'(i;iiiH'<l,  and  daslied,  and  Ijoiled,  amongst  the  rocks' 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     249 

it  been  the  wet  season,  almost  everytliing  would 
have  been  spoiled. 

After  this,  the  voyage  down  the  Essequibo  was 
quick  and  pleasant  till  we  reached  the  sea-coast; 
there  we  had  a  trying  day  of  it;  the  wind  was 
dead  against  us,  and  the  sun  remarkably  hot ;  we 
got  twice  aground  upon  a  mud-flat,  and  were  twice 
obliged  to  get  out,  up  to  the  middle  in  mud,  to 
shove  the  canoe  through  it.  Half  way  betwixt 
the  Essequibo  and  Demerara  the  tide  of  flood 
caught  us ;  and  after  the  utmost  exertions,  it  was 
half-past  six  in  the  evening  before  we  got  to 
George-town. 

We  had  been  out  from  six  in  the  morning  in 
an  open  canoe  on  the  sea-coast,  without  umbrella 
or  awning,  exposed  all  day  to  the  fiery  rays  of 
a  tropical  sun.  My  face  smarted  so  that  I  could 
get  no  sleep  during  the  night,  and  the  next  morn- 
ing my  lips  were  all  in  blisters.  The  Indian  Yan 
went  down  to  the  Essequibo  a  copper  colour,  but 
the  reflection  of  the  sun  from  the  sea,  and  from 
the  sand-banks  in  the  river,  had  turned  him  nearly 
black.  He  laughed  at  himself,  and  said  that  the 
Indians  in  the  Demerara  would  not  know  him 
again.  I  stayed  one  day  in  George-town,  and  then 
set  off  the  next  morning  for  head-quarters  in 
Mibiri  creek,  where  I  finished  the  cayman. 

Here  the  remaining  time  was  spent  in  collect- 
ing birds,  and  in  paying  particular  attention  to 
their  haunts  and  economy.  The  rainy  season 
having  set  in,  the  weather  became  bad  and 
stormy;  the  lightning  and  thunder  were  inces- 
sant: the  days  cloudy,  and  the  nights  cold  and 
misty.     I  had  now  been   eleven  months  in  the 


250    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

forests,  and  collected  some  rare  insects,  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty  birds,  two  land  tortoises,  five  ar- 
madillos, two  large  serpents,  a  sloth,  an  ant-bear, 
and  a  cayman. 

I  left  the  wilds  and  repaired  to  George-town  to 
spend  a  few  days  with  Mr.  R.  Edmonstone  pre- 
vious to  embarking  for  Europe.  I  must  here 
return  my  sincerest  thanks  to  this  worthy  gentle- 
man for  his  many  kindnesses  to  me;  his  friend- 
ship was  of  the  utmost  service  to  me,  and  he  never 
failed  to  send  me  supplies  up  into  the  forest  by 
every  opportunity. 

I  embarked  for  England,  on  board  the  Bee 
West-Indiaman,  commanded  by  Captain  Grey. 

Sir  Joseph  Banks  had  often  told  me,  he  hoped 
that  I  would  give  a  lecture  in  public,  on  the  new 
mode  I  had  discovered  of  preparing  specimens  in 
natural  history  for  museums.  I  always  declined 
to  do  so,  as  I  despaired  of  ever  being  able  to  hit 
upon  a  proper  method  of  doing  quadrupeds ;  and 
I  was  aware  that  it  would  have  been  an  imperfect 
lecture  to  treat  of  birds  only.  I  imparted  what 
little  knowledge  I  was  master  of,  at  Sir  Joseph's, 
to. the  unfortunate  gentlemen  who  went  to  Africa 
to  explore  the  Congo ;  and  that  was  all  that  took 
place  in  the  shape  of  a  lecture.  Now  that  I  had 
hit  upon  the  way  of  doing  quadrupeds,  I  drew 
up  a  little  i^lan  on  board  the  Dee,  which  I  trusted 
would  have  been  of  service  to  naturalists;  and 
by  proving  to  them  the  superiority  of  the  new 
plan,  they  would  probably  be  induced  to  abandon 
the  old  and  common  way,  which  is  a  disgrace  to 
the  present  age,  and  renders  hideous  every  speci- 
men in  every  museum  that  I  have  as  yet  visited. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    251 

I  intended  to  have  given  three  lectures;  one  on 
insects  and  serpents;  one  on  birds;  and  one  on 
quadrupeds.  But,  as  it  will  be  shortly  seen,  this 
little  plan  was  doomed  not  to  be  unfolded  to 
public  view.    Illiberality  blasted  it  in  the  bud. 

We  had  a  pleasant  passage  across  the  Atlantic, 
and  arrived  in  the  Mersey  in  fine  trim  and  good 
spirits.  Great  was  the  attention  I  received  from 
the  commander  of  the  Dee.  He  and  his  mate,  Mr. 
Spence,  took  every  care  of  my  collection. 

On  our  landing,  the  gentlemen  of  the  Liver- 
pool Custom-house  received  me  as  an  old  friend 
and  acquaintance,  and  obligingly  offered  their 
services. 

Twice  before  had  I  landed  in  Liverpool,  and 
twice  had  I  reason  to  admire  their  conduct  and 
liberality.  They  knew  I  was  incapable  of  trying 
to  introduce  anything  contraband,  and  they  were 
aware  that  I  never  dreamed  of  turning  to  profit 
the  specimens  I  had  procured.  They  considered 
that  I  had  left  a  comfortable  home  in  quest  of 
science ;  and  that  I  had  wandered  into  far-distant 
climes,  and  gone  barefooted,  ill-clothed,  and  ill- 
fed,  through  swamps  and  woods,  to  procure 
specimens,  some  of  wdiich  had  never  been  seen  in 
Europe.  They  considered  that  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  fix  a  price  upon  specimens  which  had 
never  been  bought  or  sold,  and  which  never  were 
to  be,  as  they  were  intended  to  ornament  my  OAvn 
house.  It  was  hard,  they  said,  to  have  exposed 
myself,  for  years,  to  danger,  and  then  be  obliged 
to  pay  on  returning  to  my  native  land.  Under 
these  considerations,  they  fixed  a  moderate  duty, 
which  satisfied  ."'11  rrirties. 


252    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

However,  tliis  last  expedition  ended  not  so. 
It  taught  me  how  hard  it  is  to  learn  the  grand 
lesson,  "sequam  memento  rebus  in  arduis  servare 
mentem." 

But  my  good  friends  in  the  Custom-house  of 
Liverpool  were  not  to  blame.  On  the  contrary, 
they  did  all  in  their  power  to  procure  balm  for 
me  instead  of  rue.    But  it  would  not  answer. 

They  appointed  a  very  civil  officer  to  attend 
me  to  the  ship.  AVliile  we  were  looking  into  some 
of  the  boxes,  to  see  that  the  specimens  were 
properly  stowed,  previous  to  their  being  conveyed 
to  the  king's  depot,  another  officer  entered  the 
cabin.  He  was  an  entire  stranger  to  me,  and 
seemed  wonderfully  aware  of  his  own  consequence. 
Without  preface  or  apology,  he  thrust  his  head 
over  my  shoulder,  and  said,  we  had  no  business 
to  have  opened  a  single  box  without  his  permis- 
sion. I  answered,  they  had  been  opened  almost 
every  day  since  they  had  come  on  board,  and 
that  I  considered  there  was  no  harm  in  doing  so. 

He  then  left  the  cabin,  and  I  said  to  myself  as 
he  went  out,  "I  suspect  I  shall  see  that  man 
again  at  Philippi."  The  boxes,  ten  in  number, 
were  conveyed  in  safety  from  the  ship  to  the 
depot.  I  then  proceeded  to  the  Custom-house. 
The  necessary  forms  were  gone  through,  and  a 
proportionate  duty,  according  to  circumstances, 
was  paid. 

This  done,  we  returned  from  the  Custom-house 
to  the  depot,  accompanied  by  several  gentlemen 
who  wished  to  see  the  collection.  They  expressed 
themselves  highly  gratified.  The  boxes  were 
closed,  and  nothing  now  remained  but  to  convey 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     253 

them  to  the  cart,  which  was  in  attendance  at  the 
door  of  the  depot.  Just  as  one  of  the  inferior 
officers  was  carrying  a  box  thither,  in  stepped  the 
man  whom  I  suspected  I  should  see  again  at 
Philippi.  He  abruptly  declared  himself  dissatis- 
fied with  the  valuation  which  the  gentlemen  of  the 
Customs  had  put  upon  the  collection,  and  said 
he  must  detain  it.  I  remonstrated,  but  it  was  all 
in  vain. 

After  this  pitiful  stretch  of  power,  and  bad 
compliment  to  the  other  officers  of  the  Customs, 
who  had  been  satisfied  with  the  valuation,  this 
man  had  the  folly  to  take  me  aside,  and  after  as- 
suring me  that  he  had  a  great  regard  for  the  arts 
and  sciences,  he  lamented  that  conscience  obliged 
him  to  do  what  he  had  done,  and  he  wished  he  had 
been  fifty  miles  from  Liverpool  at  the  time  that 
it  fell  to  his  lot  to  detain  the  collection.  Had  he 
looked  in  my  face  as  he  said  this,  he  would  have 
seen  no  marks  of  credulity  there. 

I  now  returned  to  the  Custom-house,  and  after 
expressing  my  opinion  of  the  officer's  conduct  at 
the  depot,  I  pulled  a  bunch  of  keys  (which  be- 
longed to  the  detained  boxes)  out  of  my  pocket, 
laid  them  on  the  table,  took  my  leave  of  the  gentle- 
men present,  and  soon  after  set  off  for  Yorkshire. 

I  saved  nothing  from  the  grasp  of  the  stranger 
officer  but  a  pair  of  live  Malay  fowls,  which  a 
gentleman  in  George-town  had  made  me  a  present 
of.  I  had  collected  in  the  forest  several  eggs  of 
curious  birds,  in  hopes  of  introducing  the  breed 
into  England,  and  had  taken  great  pains  in  doing 
them  over  with  gum-arabic,  and  in  packing  them 
in  charcoal,  according  to  a  receipt  I  had  seen  in 


254    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

the  gazette,  from  the  Edinburgh  Philosophical 
Journal.  But  these  were  detained  in  the  depot, 
instead  of  being  placed  under  a  hen ;  which  utterly 
ruined  all  my  hopes  of  rearing  a  new  species  of 
birds  in  England.  Titled  personages  in  London 
interested  themselves  in  behalf  of  the  collection, 
but  all  in  vain.  And  vain  also  were  the  public  and 
private  representations  of  the  first  officer  of  the 
Liverpool  Custom-house  in  my  favour. 

At  last  there  came  an  order  from  the  Treasury 
to  say,  that  any  specimens  Mr.  Waterton  intended 
to  present  to  public  institutions  might  pass  duty 
free;  but  those  which  he  intended  to  keep  for 
himself  must  pay  the  duty! 

A  friend  now  wrote  to  me  from  Liverpool,  re- 
questing that  I  would  come  over  and  pay  the  duty, 
in  order  to  save  the  collection,  which  had  just 
been  detained  there  six  weeks.  I  did  so.  On  pay- 
ing an  additional  duty  (for  the  moderate  duty 
first  imposed  had  already  been  paid),  the  man 
who  had  detained  the  collection  delivered  it  up 
to  me,  assuring  me  that  it  had  been  well  taken 
care  of,  and  that  a  fire  had  been  frequently  made 
in  the  room.  It  is  but  justice  to  add,  that  on 
opening  the  boxes,  there  was  nothing  injured. 

I  could  never  get  a  clue  to  these  harsh  and 
unexpected  measures,  except  that  there  had  been 
some  recent  smuggling  discovered  in  Liverpool ; 
and  that  the  man  in  question  had  been  sent  down 
from  London  to  act  the  part  of  Argus.  If  so,  I 
landed  in  an  evil  hour;  ''nefasto  die;"  making 
good  the  Spanish  proverb,  ^' Pagan  a  las  voces, 
justos  por  pecadores;"  at  times  the  innocent  suf- 
fer for  the  guilty.    After  all,  a  little  encourage- 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AIMERICA     255 

ment,  in  the  shape  of  exemption  from  paying  the 
duty  on  this  collection,  might  have  been  expected ; 
but  it  turned  out  otherwise ;  and  after  expending 
large  sums  in  pursuit  of  natural  history,  on  my 
return  home  I  was  doomed  to  pay  for  my 
success : — 

' '  Hie  finis,  Caroli  f  atorum,  hie  exitus  ilium, 
Sorte  tulit !  ' ' 

Thus,  my  fleece,  already  ragged  and  torn  with  the 
thorns  and  briers,  which  one  must  naturally  ex- 
pect to  find  in  distant  and  untrodden  wilds,  was 
shorn,  I  may  say,  on  its  return  to  England, 

However,  this  is  nothing  new;  Sancho  Panza 
must  have  heard  of  similar  cases;  for  he  says, 
^'Muchos  van  por  lana,  y  vuelven  trasquilados;" 
many  go  for  wool,  and  come  home  shorn.  In 
order  to  pick  up  matter  for  natural  history,  I 
have  wandered  through  the  wildest  parts  of  South 
America's  equatorial  regions.  I  have  attacked 
and  slain  a  modern  Python,  and  rode  on  the  back 
of  a  cayman  close  to  the  water's  edge;  a  very 
different  situation  from  that  of  a  Hyde-park 
dandy  on  his  Sunday  prancer  before  the  ladies. 
Alone  and  barefoot  I  have  pulled  poisonous 
snakes  out  of  their  lurking-places;  climbed  up 
trees  to  peep  into  holes  for  bats  and  vampires, 
and  for  days  together  hastened  through  sun  and 
rain  to  the  thickest  parts  of  the  forest  to  procure 
specimens  I  had  never  got  before.  In  fine,  I  have 
pursued  the  wild  beasts  over  hill  and  dale,  through 
swamps  and  quagmires,  now  scorched  by  the 
noon-day    sim,    now    drenched    by    the    pelting 


256    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

shower,  and  returned  to  the  hammock,  to  satisfy 
the  cravings  of  hunger,  often  on  a  poor  and 
scanty  supper. 

These  vicissitudes  have  turned  to  chestnut  hue 
a  once  English  complexion, and  changed  the  colour 
of  my  hair,  before  Father  Time  had  meddled  with 
it.  The  detention  of  the  collection  after  it  had 
fairly  passed  the  Customs,  and  the  subsequent 
order  from  the  Treasury  that  I  should  pay  duty 
for  the  specimens,  unless  they  were  presented  to 
some  public  institution,  have  cast  a  damp  upon 
my  energy,  and  forced,  as  it  were,  the  cup  of 
Lethe  to  my  lips,  by  drinking  which  I  have  forgot 
my  former  intention  of  giving  a  lecture  in  public 
on  preparing  specimens  to  adorn  museums.  In 
fine,  it  is  this  ungenerous  treatment  that  has  par- 
alyzed my  plans,  and  caused  me  to  give  up  the 
idea  I  once  had  of  inserting  here  the  newly- 
discovered  mode  of  preparing  quadrupeds  and 
serpents ;  and  without  it,  the  account  of  this  last 
expedition  to  the  wilds  of  Guiana  is  nothing  but 
a — fragment. 

Farewell,  Gentle  Beader. 


FOURTH  JOURNEY 

CHAPTER  I 

**Nunc  hue,  nunc  illuc  et  utrinque  sine  ordin©  curro." 

Courteous  reader,  when  I  bade  thee  last  fare- 
well, I  thought  these  Wanderings  were  brought 
to  a  final  close;  afterwards  I  often  roved  in 
imagination  through  distant  countries  famous 
for  natural  history,  but  felt  no  strong  inclination 
to  go  thither,  as  the  last  adventure  had  terminated 
in  such  unexpected  vexation.  The  departure  of 
the  Cuckoo  and  Swallow,  and  summer  birds  of 
passage,  for  warmer  regions,  once  so  interesting 
to  me,  now  scarcely  caused  me  to  turn  my  face  to 
the  south ;  and  I  continued  in  this  cold  and  dreary 
climate  for  three  years.  During  this  period,  I 
seldom  or  ever  mounted  my  hobby-horse;  indeed 
it  may  be  said,  with  the  old  song — 

*  *  The  saddle  and  bridle  were  laid  on  the  shelf, '  * 

and  only  taken  down  once,  on  the  night  that  I  was 
induced  to  give  a  lecture  in  the  philosophical  hall 
of  Leeds,  A  little  after  this, Wilson's  Ornithology 
of  the  United  States  fell  into  my  hands. 

The  desire  I  had  of  seeing  that  country,  to- 
gether with  the  animated  description  which  Wil- 
son had  given  of  the  birds,  fanned  up  the  almost 

17  257 


258    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

expiring  flame.  I  forgot  the  vexations  already 
alluded  to,  and  set  off  for  New  York,  in  the  beau- 
tiful packet  John  Wells,  commanded  by  Captain 
Harris.  The  passage  was  long  and  cold ;  but  the 
elegant  accommodations  on  board,  and  the  polite 
attention  of  the  commander,  rendered  it  very 
agreeable;  and  I  landed,  in  health  and  merri- 
ment, in  the  stately  capital  of  the  new  world. 

We  will  soon  pen  down  a  few  remarks  on  this 
magnificent  city,  but  not  just  now.  I  want  to 
venture  into  the  north-west  country,  and  get  to 
their  great  canal,  which  the  world  talks  so  much 
about,  though  I  fear  it  will  be  hard  work  to  make 
one's  way  through  bugs,  bears,  brutes,  and  buf- 
faloes, which  we  Europeans  imagine  are  so  fre- 
quent and  ferocious  in  these  never-ending  western 
wilds. 

I  left  New  York  on  a  fine  morning  in  July, 
without  one  letter  of  introduction,  for  the  city  of 
Albany,  some  hundred  and  eighty  miles  up  the 
celebrated  Hudson.  I  seldom  care  about  letters 
of  introduction,  for  I  am  one  of  those  who  depend 
much  upon  an  accidental  acquaintance.  Full 
many  a  face  do  I  see,  as  I  go  wandering  up  and 
down  the  world,  whose  mild  eye,  and  sweet  and 
placid  features,  seem  to  beckon  to  me,  and  say, 
as  it  were,  "Speak  but  civilly  to  me,  and  I  will 
do  what  I  can  for  you."  Such  a  face  as  this 
is  worth  more  than  a  dozen  letters  of  introduc- 
tion ;  and  such  a  face,  gentle  reader,  I  found  on 
board  the  steam-boat  from  New  York  to  the  city 
of  Albany. 

There  was  a  great  number  of  well-dressed 
ladies   and  gentlemen  in   the   vessel,   all   entire 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    259 

strangers  to  me.  I  fancied  I  could  see  several 
whose  countenances  invited  an  unknown  wan- 
derer to  come  and  take  a  seat  beside  them;  but 
there  was  one  who  encouraged  me  more  than  the 
rest.  I  saw  clearly  that  he  was  an  American,  and 
I  judged,  by  his  manners  and  appearance,  that  he 
had  not  spent  all  his  time  upon  his  native  soil.  I 
was  right  in  this  conjecture,  for  he  afterwards 
told  me  that  he  had  been  in  France  and  England. 
I  saluted  him  as  one  stranger  gentleman  ought 
to  salute  another  when  he  wants  a  little  informa- 
tion ;  and  soon  after,  I  dropped  in  a  word  or  two 
by  which  he  might  conjecture  that  I  was  a  for- 
eigner ;  but  I  did  not  tell  him  so ;  I  wished  him 
to  make  the  discovery  himself. 

He  entered  into  conversation  with  the  openness 
and  candour  which  is  so  remarkable  in  the  Amer- 
ican; and  in  a  little  time  observed  that  he  pre- 
sumed I  was  from  the  old  country.  I  told  him 
that  I  was,  and  added,  that  I  was  an  entire  stran- 
ger on  board.  I  saw  his  eye  brighten  up  at  the 
prospect  he  had  of  doing  a  fellow-creature  a  kind 
turn  or  two,  and  he  completely  won  my  regard 
by  an  affability  which  I  shall  never  forget.  This 
obliging  gentleman  pointed  out  everything  that 
was  grand  and  interesting  as  the  steam-boat  plied 
her  course  up  the  majestic  Hudson.  Here  the 
Catskill  mountains  raised  their  lofty  summits; 
and  there  the  hills  came  sloping  down  to  the 
water's  edge.  Here  he  pointed  to  an  aged  and 
venerable  oak,  which  having  escaped  the  levelling 
axe  of  man,  seemed  almost  to  defy  the  blasting 
storm  and  desolating  hand  of  time;  and  there, 
he  bade  me  observe  an  extended  tract  of  wood. 


260    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

by  which  I  might  form  an  idea  how  rich  and 
grand  the  face  of  the  country  had  once  been.  Here 
it  was  that,  in  the  great  and  momentous  struggle, 
the  colonists  lost  the  day;  and  there,  they  car- 
ried all  before  them  :— 

"They  closed  full  fast,  on  every  side 
No  slackness  there  was  found; 
And  many  a  gallant  gentleman 
Lay  gasping  on  the  ground." 

Here,  in  fine,  stood  a  noted  regiment;  there, 
moved  their  great  captain;  here,  the  fleets  fired 
their  broadsides;  and  there,  the  whole  force 
rushed  on  to  battle : — 

"Hie  Dolopum  manus,  hie  magnus  tendebat  Achilles, 
Classibus  hie  locus,  hie  acies  certare  solebat." 

At  tea-time  we  took  our  tea  together,  and  the 
next  morning  this  worthy  American  walked  up 
with  me  to  the  inn  in  Albany,  shook  me  by  the 
hand,  and  then  went  his  way.  I  bade  him  fare- 
well, and  again  farewell,  and  hoped  that  fortune 
might  bring  us  together  again  once  more.  Pos- 
sibly she  may  yet  do  so;  and  should  it  be  in 
England,  I  will  take  him  to  my  house,  as  an  old 
friend  and  acquaintance,  and  offer  him  my  choic- 
est cheer. 

It  is  at  Albany  that  the  great  canal  opens  into 
the  Hudson,  and  joins  the  waters  of  this  river 
to  those  of  Lake  Erie.  The  Hudson,  at  the  city 
of  Albany,  is  distant  from  Lake  Erie  about  three 
hundred  and  sixty  miles.  The  level  of  the  lake  is 
five  hundred  and  sixty-four  feet  higher  than  the 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    261 

Hudson,  and  there  are  eighty-one  locks  on  the 
canal.  It  is  to  the  genius  and  perseverance  of 
De  Witt  Clinton  that  the  United  States  owe  the 
almost  incalculable  advantages  of  this  inland  nav- 
igation. **Exegit  monumentum  sere  perennius." 
You  may  either  go  along  it  all  the  way  to  Buffalo, 
on  Lake  Erie,  or  by  the  stage;  or  sometimes  on 
one  and  then  in  the  other,  just  as  you  think  fit. 
Grand,  indeed,  is  the  scenery  by  either  route,  and 
capital  the  accommodations.  Cold  and  phleg- 
matic must  he  be  who  is  not  warmed  into  admira- 
tion by  the  surrounding  scenery,  and  charmed 
with  the  affability  of  the  travellers  he  meets  on 
the  way. 

This  is  now  the  season  of  roving,  and  joy  and 
merriment  for  the  gentry  of  this  happy  country. 
Thousands  are  on  the  move  from  different  parts 
of  the  Union  for  the  springs  and  lakes,  and  the 
falls  of  Niagara.  There  is  nothing  haughty  or 
forbidding  in  the  Americans;  and  wherever  you 
meet  them,  they  appear  to  be  quite  at  home.  This 
is  exactly  what  it  ought  to  be,  and  very  much  in 
favour  of  the  foreigner  who  journeys  amongst 
them.  The  immense  number  of  highly  polished 
females  who  go  in  the  stages  to  visit  the  different 
places  of  amusement,  and  see  the  stupendous  nat- 
ural curiosities  of  this  extensive  country,  incon- 
testably  proves  that  safety  and  convenience  are 
ensured  to  them,  and  that  the  most  distant  attempt 
at  rudeness  would,  by  common  consent,  be  im- 
mediately put  down. 

By  the  time  I  had  got  to  Schenectady,  I  began 
strongly  to  suspect  that  I  had  come  into  the  wrong 
country  to  look  for  bugs,  bears,  brutes,  and  buf- 


262     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

faloes.  It  is  an  enclianting  journey  from  Albany 
to  Schenectady,  and  from  thence  to  Lake  Erie. 
The  situation  of  the  city  of  Utica  is  particularly 
attractive;  the  Mohawk  running  close  by  it,  the 
fertile  fields  and  woody  mountains,  and  the  falls 
of  Trenton,  forcibly  press  the  stranger  to  stop  a 
day  or  two  here  before  he  proceeds  onward  to 
the  lake. 

At  some  far-distant  period,  when  it  will  not 
be  possible  to  find  the  place  where  many  of  the 
celebrated  cities  of  the  East  once  stood,  the  world 
will  have  to  thank  the  United  States  of  America 
for  bringing  their  names  into  the  western  regions. 
It  is,  indeed,  a  pretty  thought  of  these  people  to 
give  to  their  rising  towns  the  names  of  places  so 
famous  and  conspicuous  in  former  times. 

As  I  was  sitting  one  evening  under  an  oak,  in 
the  high  grounds  behind  Utica,  I  could  not  look 
down  upon  the  city  without  thinking  of  Cato  and 
his  misfortunes.  Had  the  town  been  called  Crof- 
ton,  or  Warmfield,  or  Dewsbury,  there  would  have 
been  nothing  remarkable  in  it;  but  Utica  at  once 
revived  the  scenes  at  school  long  past  and  half  for- 
gotten, and  carried  me  with  full  speed  back  again 
to  Italy,  and  from  thence  to  Africa.  I  crossed  the 
Rubicon  with  Caesar;  fought  at  Pharsalia;  saw 
poor  Pompey  into  Larissa,  and  tried  to  wrest  the 
fatal  sword  from  Cato's  hand  in  Utica.  Wien  I 
perceived  he  was  no  more,  I  mourned  over  the 
noble-minded  man  who  took  that  part  which  he 
thought  would  most  benefit  his  country.  There 
is  something  magnificent  in  the  idea  of  a  man 
taking  by  choice  the  conquered  side.  The  Roman 
gods  themselves  did  otherwise. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    263 

"Victrix  causa  Diis  placuit,  sed  victa  Catoni. " 

"In  this  did  Cato  with  the  Gods  divide, 

They  chose  the  conquering,  he  the  conquer 'd  side," 

The  whole  of  the  country  from  Utica  to  Buffalo 
is  pleasing;  and  the  intervening  of  the  inland 
lakes,  large  and  deep  and  clear,  adds  considerably 
to  the  effect.  The  spacious  size  of  the  inns,  their 
excellent  provisions,  and  the  attention  which  the 
traveller  receives  in  going  from  Albany  to  Buf- 
falo, must  at  once  convince  him  that  this  country 
is  very  much  visited  by  strangers;  and  he  will 
draw  the  conclusion  that  there  must  be  some- 
thing in  it  uncommonly  interesting  to  cause  so 
many  travellers  to  pass  to  and  fro. 

Nature  is  losing  fast  her  ancient  garb,  and 
putting  on  a  new  dress  in  these  extensive  regions. 
Most  of  the  stately  timber  has  been  carried  away; 
thousands  of  trees  are  lying  prostrate  on  the 
ground ;  while  meadows,  corn-fields,  villages,  and 
pastures  are  ever  and  anon  bursting  upon  the 
traveller's  view  as  he  journeys  on  through  the 
remaining  tracts  of  wood.  I  wish  I  could  say  a 
word  or  two  for  the  fine  timber  which  is  yet 
standing.  Spare  it,  gentle  inhabitants,  for  your 
country's  sake;  these  noble  sons  of  the  forest 
beautify  your  landscapes  beyond  all  description; 
when  they  are  gone,  a  century  will  not  replace 
their  loss ;  they  cannot,  they  must  not  fall ;  their 
vernal  bloom,  their  summer  richness  and  au- 
tumnal tints,  please  and  refresh  the  eye  of  man; 
and  even  when  the  days  of  joy  and  warmth  are 
fled,  the  wintry  blast   soothes  the  listening  ear 


264    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

with   a   sublime   and   pleasing  melancholy  as  it 
howls  through  their  naked  branches. 

"Around  me  trees  vmnumber'd  rise, 
Beautiful  in  various  dyes: 
The  gloomy  pine,  the  poplar  blue. 
The  yellow  beech,  the  sable  yew; 
The   slender   fir,   that  taper   grows. 
The  sturdy  oak,  with  broad-spread  boughs." 

A  few  miles  before  you  reach  Buffalo,  the  road 
is  low  and  bad,  and  in  stepping  out  of  the  stage 
I  sprained  my  foot  very  severely;  it  swelled  to 
a  great  size,  and  caused  me  many  a  day  of  pain 
and  mortification,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel. 

Buffalo  looks  down  on  Lake  Erie,  and  possesses 
a  fine  and  commodious  inn.  At  a  little  distance 
is  the  Black  Rock,  and  there  you  pass  over  to  the 
Canada  side.  A  stage  is  in  waiting  to  convey  you 
some  sixteen  or  twenty  miles  down  to  the  falls. 
Long  before  you  reach  the  spot  you  hear  the 
mighty  roar  of  waters,  and  see  the  spray  of  the 
far-famed  falls  of  Niagara,  rising  up  like  a 
column  to  the  heavens,  and  mingling  with  the 
passing  clouds. 

At  this  stupendous  cascade  of  nature,  the 
waters  of  the  lake  fall  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
six  feet  perpendicular.  It  has  been  calculated, 
I  forget  by  whom,  that  the  quantity  of  water  dis- 
charged down  this  mighty  fall,  is  six  hundred 
and  seventy  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty-five 
tons  per  minute.  There  are  two  large  inns  on 
the  Canada  side;  but,  after  you  have  satisfied 
your  curiosity  in  viewing  the  falls,  and  in  seeing 
the  rainbow  in  the  foam  far  below  where  you  are 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     265 

standing,  do  not,  I  pray  you,  tarry  long  at  either 
of  them.  Cross  over  to  the  American  side,  and 
there  yon  will  find  a  spacious  inn,  which  has 
nearly  all  the  attractions:  there  you  meet  with 
great  attention,  and  every  accommodation. 

The  day  is  passed  in  looking  at  the  falls,  and 
in  sauntering  up  and  down  the  wooded  and  rocky 
environs  of  the  Niagara ;  and  the  evening  is  often 
enlivened  by  the  merry  dance. 

Words  can  hardly  do  justice  to  the  unaffected 
ease  and  elegance  of  the  American  ladies  who 
visit  the  falls  of  Niagara.  The  traveller  need  not 
rove  in  imagination  through  Circassia  in  search 
of  fine  forms,  or  through  England,  France,  and 
Spain,  to  meet  with  polished  females.  The  num- 
bers who  are  continually  arriving  here  from  all 
parts  of  the  Union  confirm  the  justness  of  this 
remark. 

I  was  looking  one  evening  at  a  dance,  being 
unable  to  join  in  it  on  account  of  the  accident  I 
had  received  near  Buffalo,  when  a  young  Amer- 
ican entered  the  ball-room  with  such  a  becoming 
air  and  grace,  that  it  was  impossible  not  to  have 
been  struck  with  her  appearance. 

"Her  bloom  was  like  the  springing  flower 
That  sips  the  silver  dew, 
The  rose  was  budded  in  her  cheek, 
Just  opening  to  the  view." 

I  could  not  help  feeling  a  wish  to  know  where 
she  had 

"Into  such  beauty  spread,  and  blown  so  fair." 

Upon  inquiry,  I  foimd  that  she  was  from  the  city 


266    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

of  Albany.  The  more  I  looked  at  the  fair  Al- 
banese,  the  more  I  was  convinced,  that  in  the 
United  States  of  America  may  be  found  grace 
and  beauty  and  symmetry  equal  to  anything  in 
the  old  world. 

I  now  for  good  and  all  (and  well  I  might)  gave 
up  the  idea  of  finding  bugs,  bears,  brutes,  and 
buffaloes  in  this  country,  and  was  thoroughly 
satisfied  that  I  had  laboured  under  a  great  mis- 
take in  suspecting  that  I  should  ever  meet  with 
them. 

I  wished  to  join  in  the  dance  where  the  fair 
Albanese  was  "to  brisk  notes  in  cadence  beating," 
but  the  state  of  my  unlucky  foot  rendered  it  im- 
possible; and  as  I  sat  with  it  reclined  upon  a 
sofa,  full  many  a  passing  gentleman  stopped  to 
inquire  the  cause  of  my  misfortune,  presuming  at 
the  same  time  that  I  had  got  an  attack  of  gout. 
Now  this  surmise  of  theirs  always  mortified  me; 
for  I  never  had  a  fit  of  gout  in  my  life,  and  more- 
over, never  expect  to  have  one. 

In  many  of  the  inns  in  the  United  States,  there 
is  an  album  on  the  table,  in  which  travellers  insert 
their  arrival  and  departure,  and  now  and  then 
indulge  in  a  little  flash  or  two  of  wit. 

I  thought,  under  existing  circumstances,  that 
there  would  be  no  harm  in  briefly  telling  my  mis- 
adventure; and  so,  taking  up  the  pen,  I  wrote 
what  follows ;  and  was  never  after  asked  a  single 
question  about  the  gout. 

**C.  Waterton,  of  Walton-Hall,  in  the  county 
of  York,  England,  arrived  at  the  Falls  of  Niag- 
ara in  July,  1824,  and  begs  leave  to  pen  down 
the  following  dreadful  accident: — 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     267 

"He  sprained  his  foot,  and  hurt  his  toe, 
On  the  rough  road  near  Buffalo. 
It  quite  distresses  him  to  stagger  a- 
Long  the  sharp  rocks  of  famed  Niagara, 
So  thus  he's  doomed  to  drink  the  measure 
Of  pain,  in  lieu  of  that  of  pleasure. 
On  Hope's  delusive  pinions   borne, 
He  came  for  wool,  and  goes  back  shorn. 
N.  B. — Here  he  alludes  to  nothing  but 
Th'  adventure  of  his  toe  and  foot; 
Save  this, — he  sees  all  that  which  can 
Delight  and  charm  the  soul  of  man, 
But  feels  it  not, — because  his  toe 
And  foot  together  plague  him  so." 

I  remember  once  to  have  sprained  my  ankle 
very  violently,  many  years  ago,  and  that  the  doc- 
tor ordered  me  to  hold  it  under  the  pump  two  or 
three  times  a  day.  Now,  in  the  United  States  of 
America,  all  is  upon  a  grand  scale,  except  taxa- 
tion; and  I  am  convinced  that  the  traveller's 
ideas  become  much  more  enlarged  as  he  journeys 
through  the  country.  This  being  the  case,  I  can 
easily  account  for  the  desire  I  felt  to  hold  my 
sprained  foot  under  the  fall  of  Niagara.  I  de- 
scended the  winding  staircase  which  has  been 
made  for  the  accommodation  of  travellers,  and 
then  hobbled  on  to  the  scene  of  action.  As  T 
held  my  leg  under  the  fall,  I  tried  to  meditate 
on  the  immense  difference  there  was  betwixt  a 
house-pump  and  this  tremendous  cascade  of  na- 
ture, and  what  effect  it  might  have  upon  the 
sprain ;  but  the  magnitude  of  the  subject  was  too 
overwhelming,  and  I  was  obliged  to  drop  it. 

Perhaps,  indeed,  there  was  an  unwarrantable 
tincture  of  vanity  in  an  unknown  wanderer  wish- 


268     WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

ing  to  have  it  in  liis  power  to  tell  the  world,  that 
he  had  held  his  sprained  foot  under  a  fall  of 
water  which  discharges  six  hundred  and  seventy 
thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  tons  per 
minute.  A  gentle  purling  stream  would  have 
suited  better.  Now,  it  would  have  become  Wash- 
ington to  have  quenched  his  battle-thirst  in  the 
fall  of  Niagara;  and  there  was  something  royal 
in  the  idea  of  Cleopatra  drinking  pearl-vinegar, 
made  from  the  grandest  pearl  in  Egypt;  and  it 
became  Caius  Marius  to  send  word,  that  he  was 
sitting  upon  the  ruins  of  Carthage.  Here,  we 
have  the  person  suited  to  the  thing,  and  the  thing 
to  the  person. 

If,  gentle  reader,  thou  wouldst  allow  me  to 
indulge  a  little  longer  in  this  harmless  pen- 
errantry,  I  would  tell  thee,  that  I  have  had  my 
ups  and  downs  in  life,  as  well  as  other  people ;  for 
I  have  climbed  to  the  point  of  the  conductor  above 
the  cross  on  the  top  of  St.  Peter's,  in  Rome,  and 
left  my  glove  there.  I  have  stood  on  one  foot, 
upon  the  Guardian  Angel's  head,  on  the  castle  of 
St.  Angelo ;  and,  as  I  have  just  told  thee,  I  have 
been  low  down  under  the  fall  of  Niagara.  But 
this  is  neither  here  nor  there;  let  us  proceed  to 
something  else. 

When  the  pain  in  my  foot  had  become  less  vio- 
lent, and  the  swelling  somewhat  abated,  I  could 
not  resist  the  inclination  I  felt  to  go  down  On- 
tario, and  so  on  to  Montreal  and  Quebec,  and 
take  Lakes  Champlain  and  George  in  my  way 
back  to  Albany. 

Just  as  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  it,  a  family 
from  the  Bowling-green,  in  New  York,  who  was 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     269 

going  the  same  route,  politely  invited  me  to  join 
their  party.  Nothing  could  be  more  fortunate. 
They  were  highly  accomplished.  The  young  ladies 
sang  delightfully;  and  all  contributed  their  por- 
tion, to  render  the  tour  pleasant  and  amusing. 

Travellers  had  already  filled  the  world  with 
descriptions  of  the  bold  and  sublime  scenery  from 
Lake  Erie  to  Quebec : — 

"The  fountain's  fall,  the  river's  flow. 
The  woody  valleys,  warm  and  low; 
The  windy  summit,  wild  and  high, 
Eoughly   rushing   to    the    sky." 

And  there  is  scarce  one  of  them  who  has  not  de- 
scribed the  achievements  of  former  and  latter 
times,  on  the  different  battle-grounds.  Here, 
great  Wolfe  expired.  Brave  Montcalm  was  car- 
ried, mortally  wounded,  through  yonder  gate. 
Here  fell  the  gallant  Brock;  and  there  General 
Sheaffee  captured  all  the  invaders.  And  in  yon- 
der harbour  may  be  seen  the  mouldering  remnants 
of  British  vessels.  Their  hour  of  misfortune  has 
long  passed  away.  The  victors  have  now  no  use 
for  them  in  an  inland  lake.  Some  have  already 
sunk,  while  others,  dismantled  and  half-dismasted, 
are  just  above  the  water,  waiting,  in  shattered 
state,  that  destiny  which  must  sooner  or  later 
destroy  the  fairest  works  of  man. 

The  excellence  and  despatch  of  the  steam-boats, 
together  with  the  company  which  the  traveller  is 
sure  to  meet  with  at  this  time  of  the  year,  render 
the  trip  down  to  Montreal  and  Quebec  very 
agreeable. 

The   Canadians   are   a  quiet,   and   apparently 


270    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

a  happy  people.  They  are  very  courteous  and 
affable  to  strangers.  On  comparing  them  with 
the  character  which  a  certain  female  traveller,  a 
journalist,  has  thought  fit  to  give  them,  the 
stranger  might  have  great  doubts  whether  or  not 
he  were  amongst  the  Canadians. 

Montreal,  Quebec,  and  the  falls  of  Montmorency, 
are  well  worth  going  to  see.  They  are  making 
tremendous  fortifications  at  Quebec.  It  will  be 
the  Gibraltar  of  the  new  world.  When  one  con- 
siders its  distance  from  Europe,  and  takes  a  view 
of  its  powerful  and  enterprising  neighbour,  Vir- 
gil's remark  at  once  rushes  into  the  mind, 

*'Sic  vos  non  vobis  nidificatis  aves, " 

I  left  Montreal  with  regret.  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  be  introduced  to  the  Professors  of  the 
College.  These  fathers  are  a  very  learned  and 
worthy  set  of  gentlemen ;  and  on  my  taking  leave 
of  them,  I  felt  a  heaviness  at  heart,  in  reflecting 
that  I  had  not  more  time  to  cultivate  their  ac- 
quaintance. 

In  all  the  way  from  Buffalo  to  Quebec,  I  only 
met  with  one  bug;  and  I  cannot  even  swear  that 
it  belonged  to  the  United  States.  In  going  down 
the  St.  Lawrence,  in  the  steam-boat,  I  felt  some- 
thing crossing  over  my  neck;  and  on  laying  hold 
of  it  with  my  finger  and  thumb,  it  turned  out  to 
be  a  little  half-grown,  ill-conditioned  bug.  Now, 
whether  it  were  going  from  the  American  to  the 
Canada  side,  or  from  the  Canada  to  the  American, 
and  had  taken  the  advantage  of  my  shoulders  to 
ferry  itself  across,  I  could  not  tell.    Be  this  as  it 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     271 

may,  I  thought  of  my  uncle  Toby  and  the  fly ;  and 
so,  in  lieu  of  placing  it  upon  the  deck,  and  then 
putting  my  thumb-nail  vertically  upon  it,  I  quietly 
chucked  it  amongst  some  baggage  that  was  close 
by,  and  recommended  it  to  get  ashore  by  the  first 
opportunity. 

When  we  had  seen  all  that  was  worth  seeing  in 
Quebec  and  at  the  falls  of  Montmorency,  and  had 
been  on  board  the  enormous  ship  Columbus,  we 
returned  for  a  day  or  two  to  Montreal,  and  then 
proceeded  to  Saratoga  by  Lakes  Champlain  and 
George. 

The  steam-boat  from  Quebec  to  Montreal  had 
above  five  hundred  Irish  emigrants  on  board. 
They  were  going  "they  hardly  knew  whither," 
far  away  from  dear  Ireland.  It  made  one's  heart 
ache  to  see  them  all  huddled  together,  without 
any  expectation  of  ever  revisiting  their  native 
soil.  We  feared  that  the  sorrow  of  leaving  home 
for  ever,  the  miserable  accommodation  on  board 
the  ship  which  had  brought  them  away,  and  the 
tossing  of  the  angry  ocean,  in  a  long  and  dreary 
voyage,  would  have  rendered  them  callous  to  good 
behaviour.  But  it  was  quite  otherwise.  They 
conducted  themselves  with  great  propriety. 
Every  American  on  board  seemed  to  feel  for 
them.  And  then  'they  were  so  full  of  wretched- 
ness. Need  and  oppression  stared  in  their  eyes. 
Upon  their  backs  hung  ragged  misery.  The 
world  was  not  their  friend. '  ' '  Poor  dear  Ireland, ' ' 
exclaimed  an  aged  female,  as  I  was  talking  to 
her,  *  *  I  shall  never  see  it  any  more ! ' '  and  then  her 
tears  began  to  flow.  Probably  the  scenery  on  the 
banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence  recalled  to  her  mind 


272    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

the  remembrance  of  spots  once  interesting  to  her : 

"The  lovely   daughter, — lovelier   in  her   tears, 
The  fond  companion  of  her  father 's  years, 
Here  silent  stood, — ^neglectful  of  her  charms, 
And  left  her  lover 's  for  her  father 's  arms. 
With  louder  plaints  the  mother  spoke  her  woes, 
And  blessed  the  cot  where  every  pleasure  rose; 
And  pressed  her  thoughtless  babes  with  many  a  t»ar. 
And  clasped  them  close,  in  sorrow  doubly  dear, 
"While  the  fond  husband  strove  to  lend  relief. 
In  all  the  silent  manliness  of  grief. ' ' 

We  went  a  few  miles  out  of  our  route  to  take  a 
look  at  the  once  formidable  fortress  of  Ticon- 
deroga.  It  has  long  been  in  ruins,  and  seems  as 
if  it  were  doomed  to  moulder  quite  away. 

**Ever  and  anon   there   falls 

Huge  heaps  of  hoary  moulder 'd  walls. 

But  time  has  seen,  that  lifts  the  low 

And  level  lays  the  lofty  brow. 

Has  seen  this  ruin'd  pile  complete, 

Big  with  the  vanity  of  state; 

But  transient  is  the  smile  of  fate." 

The  scenery  of  Lake  George  is  superb ;  the  inn 
remarkably  spacious  and  well  attended;  and  the 
conveyance  from  thence  to  Saratoga  very  good. 
He  must  be  sorely  afflicted  with  spleen  and  jaun- 
dice, who,  on  his  arrival  at  Saratoga,  remarks, 
there  is  nothing  here  worth  coming  to  see.  It  is 
a  gay  and  fashionable  place;  has  four  uncom- 
monly fine  hotels;  its  waters,  for  medicinal  vir- 
tues, are  surpassed  by  none  in  the  known  world ; 
and  it  is  resorted  to,  throughout  the  whole  of  the 
summer,  by  foreigners  and  natives  of  the  first 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    273 

consideration.  Saratoga  pleased  me  much;  and 
afforded  a  fair  opportunity  of  forming  a  pretty 
correct  idea  of  the  gentry  of  the  United  States. 

There  is  a  pleasing  frankness,  and  ease  and 
becoming  dignity,  in  the  American  ladies;  and 
the  good  humour,  and  absence  of  all  haughtiness 
and  puppyism  in  the  gentlemen,  must,  no  doubt, 
impress  the  traveller  with  elevated  notions  of  the 
company  who  visit  this  famous  spa. 

During  my  stay  here,  all  was  joy,  and  affability, 
and  mirth.  In  the  mornings  the  ladies  played  and 
sang  for  us;  and  the  evenings  were  generally 
enlivened  with  the  merry  dance.  Here  I  bade 
farewell  to  the  charming  family,  in  whose  com- 
pany I  had  passed  so  many  happy  days,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Albany. 

The  stage  stopped  a  little  while  in  the  town  of 
Troy.  The  name  alone  was  quite  sufficient  to 
recall  to  the  mind  scenes  long  past  and  gone. 
Poor  king  Priam!  Napoleon's  sorrows,  sad  and 
piercing  as  they  were,  did  not  come  up  to  those 
of  this  ill-fated  monarch.  The  Greeks  first  set 
his  town  on  fire,  and  then  began  to  bully : — 

"Ineensa  Danai  dominantur  in  urbe. " 

One  of  his  sons  was  slain  before  his  face;  **ante 
ora  parentum,  concidit."  Another  was  crushed 
to  mummy  by  boa-constrictors  ;''immensis  orbibus 
angues."  His  city  was  rased  to  the  ground, 
"jacet  Ilion  ingens."  And  Pyrrhus  ran  him 
through  with  his  sword,  "capulo  tenus  abdidit 
ensem."  This  last  may  be  considered  as  a  for- 
tunate stroke  for  the  poor  old  king.  Had  his  life 
been  spared  at  this  juncture  he  could  not  have 

18 


274    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AINIERICA 

lived  long.  He  must  have  died  broken-hearted. 
He  would  have  seen  his  son-in-law,  once  master 
of  a  noble  stud,  now,  for  want  of  a  horse,  obliged 
to  carry  off  his  father,  up  hill,  on  his  own  back, 
''cessi  et  sublato,  montem  genitore  petivi."  He 
would  have  heard  of  his  grandson  being  thrown 
neck  and  heels  from  a  high  tower,  ''mittitur 
Astyanax  illis  de  turribus. ' '  He  would  have  been 
informed  of  his  wife  tearing  out  the  eyes  of  king 
Odrysius  with  her  finger  nails,  ' '  digitos  in  perfida 
lumina  condit."  Soon  after  this,  losing  all  ap- 
pearance of  woman,  she  became  a  bitch, 

"Perdidit  infelix,  hominis  post  omnia  formam," 

and  rent  the  heavens  with  her  bowlings, 

* ' Externasque  novo  latratu  terruit  auras." 

Then,  becoming  distracted  with  the  remembrance 
of  her  misfortunes,  "veterum  memor  ilia  ma- 
lorum,'*  she  took  off  howling  into  the  fields  of 
Thrace, — 

"Turn  quoque  Sithonios,  ululavit  mcesta  per  agros." 

Juno,  Jove's  wife  and  sister,  was  heard  to  declare, 
that  poor  Hecuba  did  not  deserve  so  terrible  a 
fate, — 

"Ipsa  Jovis  conjuxque  sororque, 
Eventus  Hecubam  meruisse  negaverit  illos." 

Had  poor  Priam  escaped  from  Troy,  one  thing, 
and  only  one  thing,  would  have  given  him  a  small 
ray  of  satisfaction,  viz.,  he  would  have  heard  of 
one  of  his  daughters  nobly  preferring  to  leave  this 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     275 

world,  ratlier  than  live  to  become  servant-maid 
to  old  Grecian  ladies : — 

"Non  ego  Myrmidonum  sedes,  Dolopumve  superbas, 
Adspiciam,  aut  Graiis  servitum  matribus  ibo. " 

At  some  future  period,  should  a  foreign  armed 
force,  or  intestine  broils  (all  which  heaven  avert), 
raise  Troy  to  the  dignity  of  a  fortified  city,  Vir- 
gil's prophecy  may  then  be  fulfilled, 

"Atque  iterum  ad  Trojam  magnus  mittetur  Achilles." 

After  leaving  Troy,  I  passed  through  a  fine 
country  to  Albany;  and  then  proceeded  by  steam 
down  the  Hudson  to  New  York. 

Travellers  hesitate  whether  to  give  the  prefer- 
ence to  Philadelphia  or  to  New  York.  Phila- 
delphia is  certainly  a  noble  city,  and  its  environs 
beautiful;  but  there  is  a  degree  of  quiet  and 
sedateness  in  it,  which,  though  no  doubt  very 
agreeable  to  the  man  of  calm  and  domestic  habits, 
is  not  so  attractive  to  one  of  speedy  movements. 
The  quantity  of  white  marble  which  is  used  in  the 
buildings,  gives  to  Philadelphia  a  gay  and  lively 
appearance ;  but  the  sameness  of  the  streets,  and 
their  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles,  are  some- 
what tiresome.  The  water-works  wliich  supply 
the  city,  are  a  proud  monument  of  the  skill  and 
enterprise  of  its  inhabitants;  and  the  market  is 
well  worth  the  attention  of  the  stranger. 

When  you  go  to  Philadelphia,  be  sure  not  to 
forget  to  visit  the  Museum.  It  will  afford  you  a 
great  treat.  Some  of  Mr.  Peale's  family  are  con- 
stantly in  it,  and  are  ever  ready  to  show  the 
curiosities  to  strangers,  and  to  give  them  every 


276    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

necessary  information.  Mr.  Peale  has  now  passed 
his  eightieth  year,  and  appears  to  possess  the 
vivacity,  and,  I  may  almost  add,  the  activity  of 
youth. 

To  the  indefatigable  exertions  of  this  gentle- 
man is  the  western  world  indebted  for  the  pos- 
session of  this  splendid  museum.  Mr.  Peale  is, 
moreover,  an  excellent  artist.  Look  attentively, 
I  pray  you,  at  the  portrait  he  has  taken  of  himself, 
by  desire  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  On  en- 
tering the  room  he  appears  in  the  act  of  holding 
up  a  curtain,  to  show  you  his  curiosities.  The 
effect  of  the  light  upon  his  head  is  infinitely  strik- 
ing. I  have  never  seen  anything  finer  in  the  way 
of  light  and  shade.  The  skeleton  of  the  mam- 
moth is  a  national  treasure.  I  could  form  but  a 
faint  idea  of  it  by  description,  until  I  had  seen 
it.  It  is  the  most  magnificent  skeleton  in  the 
world.  The  city  ought  never  to  forget  the  great 
expense  Mr.  Peale  was  put  to,  and  the  skill  and 
energy  he  showed,  during  the  many  months  he 
spent  in  searching  the  swamps,  where  these  enor- 
mous bones  had  been  concealed  from  the  eyes  of 
the  world  for  centuries. 

The  extensive  squares  of  this  city  are  orna- 
mented with  well-grown  and  luxuriant  trees.  Its 
unremitting  attention  to  literature  might  cause  it 
to  be  styled  the  Athens  of  the  United  States. 
Here,  learning  and  science  have  taken  up  their 
abode.  The  literary  and  philosophical  associa- 
tions, the  enthusiasm  of  individuals,  the  activity 
of  the  press,  and  the  cheapness  of  the  publica- 
tions, ought  to  raise  the  name  of  Philadelphia  to 
an  elevated  situation  in  the  temple  of  knowledge. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     277 

From  the  press  of  this  city  came  Wilson's 
famous  ''Ornithology."  By  observing  the  birds 
in  their  native  haunts,  he  has  been  enabled  to 
purge  their  history  of  numberless  absurdities, 
which  inexperienced  theorists  had  introduced  into 
it.  It  is  a  pleasing  and  a  brilliant  work.  We 
have  no  description  of  birds  in  any  European 
publication  that  can  come  up  to  this.  By  perus- 
ing Wilson's  ''Ornithology"  attentively  before  I 
left  England,  I  knew  where  to  look  for  the  birds, 
and  immediately  recognized  them  in  their  native 
land. 

Since  his  time,  I  fear  the  White-headed  Eagles 
have  been  much  thinned.  I  was  perpetually  look- 
ing out  for  them,  but  saw  very  few.  One  or  two 
came  now  and  then,  and  soared  in  lofty  flight  over 
the  falls  of  Niagara.  The  Americans  are  proud 
of  this  bird  in  effigy,  and  their  hearts  rejoice  when 
its  banner  is  unfurled.  Could  they  not  then  be 
persuaded  to  protect  the  white-headed  eagle,  and 
allow  it  to  glide  in  safety  over  its  own  native 
forests'?  Were  I  an  American,  I  should  think  I 
had  committed  a  kind  of  sacrilege  in  killing  the 
white-headed  eagle.  The  Ibis  was  held  sacred  by 
the  Egyptians ;  the  Hollanders  protect  the  Stork ; 
the  Vulture  sits  unmolested  on  the  top  of  the 
houses  in  the  city  of  Angustura;  and  Robin-red- 
breast, for  liis  charity,  is  cherished  by  the 
English : — 

"No  burial  these  pretty  babes 
Of  any  man  receives, 
Till  robin-red-breast  painfully 
Did  cover  them  with  leaves."* 

*  The  fault  against  grammar  is  lost  in  the  beauty  of  the  idea. 


278    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

Poor  "Wilson  was  smote  by  the  liand  of  death, 
before  he  had  finished  his  work.  Prince  Charles 
Buonaparte,  nephew  to  the  late  emperor  Na- 
poleon, aided  by  some  of  the  most  scientific  gentle- 
men of  Pennsylvania,  is  continuing  this  valuable 
and  interesting  publication. 

New  York,  with  great  propriety,  may  he  called 
the  commercial  capital  of  the  new  world : — 

"Urbs  augusta  potens,  nulli  cessura." 

Ere  long,  it  will  be  on  the  coast  of  North  America 
what  Tyre  once  was  on  that  of  Syria.  In  her  port 
are  the  ships  of  all  nations ;  and  in  her  streets  is 
displayed  merchandise  from  all  parts  of  the  known 
world.  And  then  the  approach  to  it  is  so  enchant- 
ing! The  verdant  fields,  the  woody  hills,  the 
farms,  and  country  houses,  form  a  beautiful  land- 
scape as  you  sail  up  to  the  city  of  New  York. 

Broadway  is  the  principal  street.  It  is  three 
miles  and  a  half  long.  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know 
where  to  look  for  a  street,  in  any  part  of  the 
world,  which  has  so  many  attractions  as  this. 
There  are  no  steam-engines  to  annoy  you  by 
filling  the  atmosphere  full  of  soot  and  smoke ;  the 
houses  have  a  stately  appearance;  while  the  eye 
is  relieved  from  the  perpetual  sameness,  which  is 
common  in  most  streets,  by  lofty  and  luxuriant 
trees. 

Nothing  can  surpass  the  appearance  of  the 
American  ladies,  when  they  take  their  morning 
walk,  from  twelve  to  three,  in  Broadway.  The 
stranger  will  at  once  see  that  they  have  rejected 
the  extravagant  superfluities  which  appear  in  the 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     279 

London  and  Parisian  fashions;  and  have  only  re- 
tained as  much  of  those  costumes,  as  is  becoming 
to  the  female  form.  This,  joined  to  their  own 
just  notions  of  dress,  is  what  renders  the  New 
York  ladies  so  elegant  in  their  attire.  The  way 
they  wear  the  Leghorn  hat  deserves  a  remark  or 
two.  With  us,  the  formal  hand  of  the  milliner 
binds  down  the  brim  to  one  fixed  shape,  and  that 
none  of  the  handsomest.  The  wearer  is  obliged 
to  turn  her  head  full  ninety  degrees  before  she 
can  see  the  person  who  is  standing  by  her  side. 
But  in  New  York  the  ladies  have  the  brim  of  the 
hat  not  fettered  with  wire,  or  tape,  or  ribbon,  but 
quite  free  and  undulating;  and  by  applying  the 
hand  to  it,  they  can  conceal  or  expose  as  much  of 
the  face  as  circumstances  require.  This  hiding 
and  exposing  of  the  face,  by  the  bye,  is  certainly 
a  dangerous  movement,  and  often  fatal  to  the. 
passing  swain.  I  am  convinced  in  my  own  mind, 
that  many  a  determined  and  unsuspecting  bache- 
lor, has  been  shot  down  by  this  sudden  manoeuvre, 
before  he  was  aware  that  he  was  within  reach  of 
the  battery. 

The  American  ladies  seem  to  have  an  abhor- 
rence (and  a  very  just  one  too)  of  wearing  caps. 
Wlien  one  considers  for  a  moment,  that  women: 
wear  the  hair  long,  which  nature  has  given  them 
both  for  an  ornament  and  to  keep  the  head  warm, 
one  is  apt  to  wonder,  by  what  perversion  of  good 
taste  they  can  be  induced  to  enclose  it  in  a  cap. 
A  mob  cap,  a  lace  cap,  a  low  cap,  a  high  cap,  a  flat 
cap,  a  cap  with  ribbons  dangling  loose,  a  cap  with 
ribbons  tied  under  the  chin,  a  peak  cap,  an  angular 
cap,  a  round  cap,  and  a  pyramid  cap !    How  would 


280    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

Canova's  Venus  look  in  a  mob  cap?  If  there  be 
any  ornament  to  the  head  in  wearing  a  cap,  it 
must  surely  be  a  false  ornament.  The  American 
ladies  are  persuaded  that  the  head  can  be  orna- 
mented without  a  cap.  A  rose-bud  or  two,  a  wood- 
bine, or  a  sprig  of  eglantine,  look  well  in  the 
braided  hair ;  and  if  there  be  raven  locks,  a  lily  or 
a  snowdrop  may  be  interwoven  with  effect. 

Now  that  the  packets  are  so  safe,  and  make 
such  quick  passages  to  the  United  States,  it  would 
be  as  well  if  some  of  our  head  milliners  would  go 
on  board  of  them,  in  lieu  of  getting  into  the  Dili- 
gence for  Paris.  They  would  bring  back  more 
taste,  and  less  caricature.  And  if  they  could 
persuade  a  dozen  or  two  of  the  farmers'  servant 
girls  to  return  with  them,  we  should  soon  have 
proof  positive,  that  as  good  butter  and  cheese 
may  be  made  with  the  hair  braided  up,  and  a 
daisy  or  primrose  in  it,  as  butter  and  cheese 
made  in  a  cap  of  barbarous  shape;  washed, 
perhaps,  in  soap-suds  last  new  moon. 

New  York  has  very  good  hotels,  and  genteel 
boarding  houses.  All  charges  included,  you  do 
not  pay  above  two  dollars  a  day.  Little  enough, 
when  you  consider  the  capital  accommodations, 
and  the  abundance  of  food. 

In  this  city,  as  well  as  in  others  which  I  visited, 
every  body  seemed  to  walk  at  his  ease.  I  could 
see  no  inclination  for  jostling;  no  impertinent 
staring  at  you;  nor  attempts  to  create  a  row  in 
order  to  pick  your  pocket.  I  would  stand  for  an 
hour  together  in  Broadway,  to  observe  the  pass- 
ing multitude.  There  is  certainly  a  gentleness 
in  these  people,  both  to  be  admired  and  imitated. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    281 

I  could  see  very  few  dogs,  still  fewer  cats,  and 
but  a  very  small  proportion  of  fat  women  in  the 
streets  of  New  York.  The  climate  was  the  only 
thing  that  I  had  really  to  find  fault  with ;  and  as 
the  autumn  was  now  approaching,  I  began  to 
think  of  preparing  for  warmer  regions. 

Strangers  are  apt  to  get  violent  cold,  on  ac- 
count of  the  sudden  change  of  the  atmosphere. 
The  noon  would  often  be  as  warm  as  tropical 
weather,  and  the  close  of  day  cold  and  chilly. 
This  must  sometimes  act  with  severity  upon  the 
newly-arrived  stranger;  and  it  requires  more 
care  and  circumspection  than  1  am  master  of  to 
guard  against  it.  I  contracted  a  bad  and  obsti- 
nate cough,  which  did  not  quite  leave  me  till  I 
had  got  under  the  regular  heat  of  the  sun,  near 
the  equator. 

I  may  be  asked,  was  it  all  good  fellowship  and 
civility  during  my  stay  in  the  United  States? 
Did  no  forward  person  cause  offence,  was  there 
no  exhibition  of  drunkenness,  or  swearing,  or 
rudeness;  or  display  of  conduct  which  disgraces 
civilized  man  in  other  countries'?  I  answer,  very 
few  indeed :  scarce  any  worth  remembering,  and 
none  worth  noticing.  These  are  a  gentle  and  a 
civil  people.  Should  a 'traveller,  now  and  then  in 
the  long  run,  witness  a  few  of  the  scenes  alluded 
to,  he  ought  not,  on  his  return  home,  to  adduce 
a  solitary  instance  or  two,  as  the  custom  of  the 
country.  In  roving  through  the  wilds  of  Guiana, 
I  have  sometimes  seen  a  tree  hollow  at  heart, 
shattered  and  leafless;  but  I  did  not  on  that  ac- 
count condemn  its  vigorous  neighbours,  and  put 
down  a  memorandum  that  the  woods  were  bad; 


282    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

on  the  contrary,  I  made  allowances:  a  thunder- 
storm, the  whirlwind,  a  blight  from  heaven  might 
have  robbed  it  of  its  bloom,  and  caused  its  present 
forbidding  appearance.  And,  in  leaving  the  for- 
est, I  carried  away  the  impression,  that  though 
some  few  of  the  trees  were  defective,  the  rest 
were  an  ornament  to  the  wilds,  full  of  uses  and 
virtues,  and  capable  of  benefiting  the  world  in  a 
superior  degree. 

A  man  generally  travels  into  foreign  countries 
for  his  own  ends ;  and  I  suspect  there  is  scarcely 
an  instance  to  be  found  of  a  person  leaving  his 
own  home  solely  with  the  intention  of  benefiting 
those  amongst  whom  he  is  about  to  travel.  A 
commercial  speculation,  curiosity,  a  wish  for  in- 
formation, a  desire  to  reap  benefit  from  an  ac- 
quaintance with  our  distant  fellow-creatures,  are 
the  general  inducements  for  a  man  to  leave  his 
own  fire-side.  This  ought  never  to  be  forgotten; 
and  then  the  traveller  will  journey  on  under  the 
persuasion  that  it  rather  becomes  him  to  court 
than  expect  to  be  courted,  as  his  own  interest  is. 
the  chief  object  of  his  travels.  With  this  in  view, 
he  will  always  render  himself  pleasant  to  the  na- 
tives; and  they  are  sure  to  repay  his  little  acts 
of  courtesy  with  ample  interest,  and  with  a  fund 
of  information  which  will  be  of  great  service  to 
him. 

While  in  the  United  States,  I  found  our  western 
brother  a  very  pleasant  fellow;  but  his  portrait 
has  been  drawn  in  such  different  shades,  by  dif- 
ferent travellers  who  have  been  through  his  terri- 
tory, that  it  requires  a  personal  interview  before, 
a  correct  idea  can  be  formed  of  his  true  colours. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    283 

He  is  very  inquisitive;  but  it  is  quite  wrong  on' 
that  account  to  tax  him  with  being  of  an  imperti- 
nent turn.  He  merely  interrogates  you  for  infor- 
mation ;  and  when  you  have  satisfied  him  on  that 
score,  only  ask  him  in  your  turn  for  an  account 
of  what  is  going  on  in  his  own  country,  and  he 
will  tell  you  everytliing  about  it  with  great  good 
humour,  and  in  excellent  language.  He  has  cer- 
tainly hit  upon  the  way  (but  I  could  not  make 
out  by  what  means)  of  speaking  a  much., 
purer  English  language  than  that  which  is  in 
general  spoken  on  the  parent  soil.  This  as- 
tonished me  much;  but  it  is  really  the  case. 
Amongst  his  many  good  qualities,  he  has  one 
unenviable,  and,  I  may  add,  a  bad  propen- 
sity: he  is  immoderately  fond  of  smoking. 
He  may  say,  that  he  learned  it  from  his  nurses 
with  whom  it  was  once  much  in  vogue.  In  Dutch 
William's  time  (he  was  a  man  of  bad  taste),  the 
English  gentleman  could  not  do  without  his  pipe. 
During  the  short  space  of  time  that  corporal  Trim 
was  at  the  inn  inquiring  after  poor  Lefevre's 
health,  my  uncle  Toby  had  knocked  the  ashes  out 
of  three  pipes.  ''It  was  not  till  my  uncle  Toby 
had  knocked  the  ashes  out  of  his  third  pipe,"  &c. 
Now  these  times  have  luckily  gone  by,  and  the 
custom  of  smoking  amongst  genteel  Englishmen 
has  nearly  died  away  with  them ;  it  is  a  foul  cus- 
tom; it  makes  a  foul  mouth,  and  a  foul  place 
where  the  smoker  stands ;  however,  every  nation 
has  its  whims.  John  Bull  relishes  stinking  veni- 
son; a  Frenchman  depopulates  whole  swamps  in 
quest  of  frogs;  a  Dutchman's  pipe  is  never  out; 
of  his  mouth;  a  Russian  will  eat  tallow  candles; 


284    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

and  the  American  indulges  in  the  cigar.  **De 
gustibus  non  est  disputandnm." 

Our  western  brother  is  in  possession  of  a 
couu/try  replete  with  everything  that  can  con- 
tribute to  the  happiness  and  comfort  of  mankind. 
His  code  of  laws,  purified  by  experience  and  com- 
mon sense,  has  fully  answered  the  expectations 
of  the  public.  By  acting  up  to  the  true  spirit 
of  this  code,  he  has  reaped  immense  advantages 
from  it.  His  advancement,  as  a  nation,  has  been 
rapid  beyond  all  calculation;  and,  young  as  he 
is,  it  may  be  remarked,  without  any  impropriety, 
that  he  is  now  actually  reading  a  salutary  lesson 
to  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world. 

It  is  but  some  forty  years  ago,  that  he  had  the 
dispute  with  his  nurse  about  a  dish  of  tea.  She 
wanted  to  force  the  boy  to  drink  it  according  to  her 
own  receipt.  He  said,  he  did  not  like  it,  and  that 
it  absolutely  made  him  ill.  After  a  good  deal  of 
sparring,  she  took  up  the  birch  rod,  and  began  to 
whip  him  with  an  uncommon  degree  of  asperity. 
When  the  poor  lad  found  that  he  must  either 
drink  the  nauseous  dish  of  tea  or  be  flogged  to 
death,  he  turned  upon  her  in  self-defence ;  showed 
her  to  the  outside  of  the  nursery  door,  and  never 
more  allowed  her  to  meddle  with  his  affairs. 

Since  the  independence,  the  population  has  in- 
creased from  three  to  ten  millions.  A  fine  navy 
has  been  built;  and  everything  attended  to  that 
could  ensure  prosperity  at  home,  and  respect 
abroad. 

The  former  wilds  of  North  America  bear  ample 
testimony  to  the  achievements  of  this  enterprising 
people.    Forests  have  been  cleared  away,  swamps 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    285 

drained,  canals  dug,  and  flourishing  settlements 
established.  From  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  an 
immense  column  of  knowledge  has  rolled  into  the 
interior.  The  Mississippi,  the  Ohio,  the  Mis- 
souri, and  their  tributary  streams,  have  been  won- 
derfully benefited  by  it.  It  now  seems  as  if  it 
were  advancing  towards  the  stony  mountains  and 
probably  will  not  become  stationary  till  it  reaches 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  This  almost  immeasurable 
territory  affords  a  shelter  and  a  home  to  mankind 
in  general:  Jew  or  Gentile,  king's-man  or  repub- 
lican, he  meets  with  a  friendly  reception  in  the 
United  States.  His  opinions,  his  persecutions, 
his  errors,  or  mistakes,  however  they  may  have 
injured  him  in  other  countries,  are  dead,  and  of 
no  avail  on  his  arrival  here.  Provided  he  keeps 
the  peace,  he  is  sure  to  be  at  rest. 

Politicians  of  other  countries  imagine  that  in- 
testine feuds  will  cause  a  division  in  this  com- 
monwealth; at  present  there  certainly  appears 
to  be  no  reason  for  such  a  conjecture.  Heaven 
forbid  that  it  should  happen !  The  world  at  large 
would  suffer  by  it.  For  ages  yet  to  come,  may  this 
great  commonwealth  continue  to  be  the  United 
States  of  North  America. 

The  sun  was  now  within  a  week  or  two  of 
passing  into  the  southern  hemisphere,  and  the 
mornings  and  evenings  were  too  cold  to  be  com- 
fortable. I  embarked  for  the  island  of  Antigua, 
with  the  intention  of  calling  at  the  different 
islands  in  the  Carribean  sea,  on  my  way  once 
more  towards  the  wilds  of  Guiana. 


CHAPTEE  II 

We  were  thirty  days  in  making  Antigua,  and 
thanked  Providence  for  ordering  us  so  long  a 
passage.  A  tremendous  gale  of  wind,  approach- 
ing to  a  hurricane,  had  done  much  damage  in  the 
West  Indies.  Had  our  passage  been  of  ordinary 
length,  we  should  inevitably  have  been  caught  in 
the  gale. 

St.  John's  is  the  capital  of  Antigua.  In  better 
times  it  may  have  had  its  gaities  and  amusements. 
At  present,  it  appears  sad  and  woe-begone.  The 
houses,  which  are  chiefly  of  wood,  seem  as  if  they 
had  not  had  a  coat  of  paint  for  many  years ;  the 
streets  are  uneven  and  ill-paved;  and  as  the 
stranger  wanders  through  them,  he  might  fancy 
that  they  would  afford  a  congenial  promenade 
to  the  man  who  is  about  to  take  his  last  leave  of 
surrounding  worldly  misery,  before  he  hangs 
himself.  There  had  been  no  rain  for  some  time, 
so  that  the  parched  and  barren  pasture  near  the 
town  might,  with  great  truth,  be  called  Eosi- 
nante's  own.  The  mules  feeding  on  them,  put 
you  in  mind  of  Ovid's  description  of  famine: — 

"Dura  cutis,  per  quam  spectari  viscera  possent," 

It  is  somewhat  singular,  that  there  is  not  a  single 
river  or  brook  in  the  whole  island  of  Antigua. 
In  this  it  differs  from  Tartary  in  the  other  world ; 

286 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    287 

which,  according  to  old  writers,  has  five  rivers; 
viz.,  Acheron,  Phlegethon,  Cocytus,  Styx,  and 
Lethe. 

In  this  island  I  found  the  Red  Start,  described 
in  Wilson's  ''Ornithology  of  the  United  States/' 
I  wished  to  learn  whether  any  of  these  birds  re- 
main the  whole  year  in  Antigua,  and  breed  there ; 
or  whether  they  all  leave  it  for  the  north  when  the 
sun  comes  out  of  the  southern  hemisphere;  but, 
upon  inquiry,  I  could  get  no  information  what- 
ever. 

After  passing  a  dull  week  here,  I  sailed  for 
Guadaloupe,  whose  bold  and  cloud-capped  moun- 
tains have  a  grand  appearance  as  you  approach 
the  island.  Basseterre,  the  capital,  is  a  neat 
town,  with  a  handsome  public  walk  in  the  middle 
of  it,  well  shaded  by  a  row  of  fine  tamarind  trees 
on  each  side.  Behind  the  town.  La  Souffriere 
raises  its  high  romantic  summit;  and  on  a  clear 
day,  you  may  see  the  volcanic  smoke  which  issues 
from  it. 

Nearly  midway,  betwixt  Guadaloupe  and  Do- 
minica, you  descry  the  Saintes.  Though  high, 
and  bold,  and  rocky,  they  have  still  a  diminutive 
appearance  when  compared  with  their  two  gigan- 
tic neighbours.  You  just  see  Marigalante  to 
windward  of  them,  some  leagues  off,  about  a  yard 
high  in  the  horizon. 

Dominica  is  majestic  in  high  and  rugged  moun- 
tains. As  you  sail  along  it,  you  cannot  help  ad- 
miring its  beautiful  coffee  plantations,  in  places 
so  abrupt  and  steep,  that  you  would  pronounce 
them  almost  inaccessible.  Roseau,  the  capital,  is 
but  a  small  town,  and  has  nothing  attractive  ex- 


288    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

cept  the  well-lmown  hospitality  of  the  present 
harbour-master,  who  is  particularly  attentive  to 
strangers,  and  furnishes  them  with  a  world  of  in- 
formation concerning  the  West  Indies.  Roseau 
has  seen  better  days;  and  you  can  trace  good 
taste  and  judgment  in  the  way  in  which  the  town 
has  originally  been  laid  out. 

Some  years  ago  it  was  visited  by  a  succession 
of  misfortunes,  which  smote  it  so  severely,  that  it 
has  never  recovered  its  former  appearance.  A 
strong  French  fleet  bombarded  it ;  while  a  raging 
fire  destroyed  its  finest  buildings.  Some  time 
after,  an  overwhelming  flood  rolled  down  the 
gullies  and  fissures  of  the  adjacent  mountains, 
and  carried  all  before  it.  Men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, houses,  and  property,  were  all  swept  away 
by  this  mighty  torrent.  The  terrible  scene  was 
said  to  beggar  all  description,  and  the  loss  was 
immense. 

Dominica  is  famous  for  a  large  species  of  Frog, 
which  the  inhabitants  keep  in  readiness  to  slaugh- 
ter for  the  table.  In  the  woods  of  this  island, 
the  large  Rhinoceros  Beetle  is  very  common;  it 
measures  above  six  inches  in  length.  In  the  same 
woods  is  found  the  beautiful  Humming-bird,  the 
breast  and  throat  of  which  are  of  a  brilliant 
changing  purple.  I  have  searched  for  this  bird 
in  Brazil,  and  through  the  whole  of  the  wilds 
from  the  Rio  Branco,  which  is  a  branch  of  the 
Amazons,  to  the  river  Paumaron,  but  never  could 
find  it.  I  was  told  by  a  man  in  the  Egyptian- 
Hall,  in  Piccadilly,  that  this  humming-bird  is 
found  in  Mexico ;  but  upon  questioning  him  more 
about  it,  his  information   seemed  to  have  been 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    289 

acquired  by  hearsay;  and  so  I  concluded  that 
it  does  not  appear  in  Mexico,  I  suspect  that  it 
is  never  found  out  of  the  Antilles. 

After  leaving  Dominica,  you  soon  reach  the 
grand  and  magnificent  island  of  Martinico.  St. 
Pierre,  its  capital,  is  a  fine  town,  and  possesses 
every  comfort.  The  inhabitants  seem  to  pay  con- 
siderable attention  to  the  cultivation  of  the  trop- 
ical fruits.  A  stream  of  water  runs  down  the 
streets  with  great  rapidity,  producing  a  pleasing 
effect  as  you  pass  along. 

Here  I  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  a 
Cuckoo,  which  had  just  been  shot.  It  was  ex- 
actly the  same  as  the  Metallic  Cuckoo  in  Wilson's 
^'Ornithology."  They  told  me  it  is  a  migratory 
bird  in  Martinico.  It  probably  repairs  to  this 
island  after  its  departure  from  the  United  States. 

At  a  little  distance  from  Martinico,  the  cele- 
brated Diamond  Rock  rises  in  insulated  majesty 
out  of  the  sea.  It  was  fortified  during  the  last 
war  with  France,  and  bravely  defended  by  an 
English  captain. 

In  a  few  hours  from  Martinico,  you  are  at  St. 
Lucie,  whose  rough  and  towering  mountains  fill 
you  with  sublime  ideas,  as  you  approach  its  rocky 
shore.  The  town  Castries  is  quite  embayed.  It 
was  literally  blown  to  pieces  by  the  fatal  hurri- 
cane, in  which  the  unfortunate  governor  and  his 
lady  lost  their  lives.  Its  present  forlorn  and 
gloomy  appearance,  and  the  grass  which  is 
grown  up  in  the  streets,  too  plainly  show  that 
its  hour  of  joy  is  passed  away ;  and  that  it  is  in 
mourning,  as  it  were,  with  the  rest  of  the  British 
West  Indies. 

19 


290    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

From  St.  Lucie,  I  proceeded  to  Barbadoes  in 
quest  of  a  conveyance  to  the  island  of  Trinidad. 

Near  Bridgetown,  the  capital  of  Barbadoes,  I 
saw  the  metallic  cuckoo,  already  alluded  to. 

Barbadoes  is  no  longer  the  merry  island  it  was 
when  I  visited  it  some  years  ago : — 

"Infelix  habitum,  temporis  hujus  habet. " 

There  is  an  old  song,  to  the  tune  of  La  Belle 
Catharine,  which  must  evidently  have  been  com- 
posed in  brighter  times: — 

"Come  let   us   dance  and   sing, 
While  Barbadoes  bells  do  ring; 
Quashi  scrapes  the  fiddle-string, 
And  Venus  plays  the  lute." 

Quashi 's  fiddle  was  silent;  and  mute  was  the 
lute  of  Venus  during  my  stay  in  Barbadoes.  The 
difference  betwixt  the  French  and  British  islands 
was  Yerj  striking.  The  first  appeared  happy  and 
content ;  the  second  were  filled  with  murmurs  and 
complaints.  The  late  proceedings  in  England, 
concerning  slavery,  and  the  insurrection  in  Dem- 
erara,  had  evidently  caused  the  gloom.  The  abo- 
lition of  slavery  is  a  question  full  of  benevolence 
and  fine  feelings,  difficulties  and  danger: — 

"Tantum  ne  noceas,  dum  vis  prodesse  videto. '* 

It  requires  consummate  prudence,  and  a  vast  fund 
of  true  information,  in  order  to  draw  just  conclu- 
sions on  this  important  subject.  Phaeton,  by  awk- 
ward driving,  set  the  world  on  fire:  "Sylvae  cum 
montibus  ardent."    Daedalus  gave  his  son  a  pair 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     291 

of  wings  without  considering  the  consequence; 
the  boy  flew  out  of  all  bounds,  lost  his  wings,  and 
tumbled  into  the  sea: — 

"Icarus,  Icariis  nomina  feeit  aquis.'* 

When  the  old  man  saw  what  had  happened,  he 
damned  his  own  handicraft  in  wing-making;  *'de- 
vovitque  suas  artes."  Prudence  is  a  cardinal 
virtue : — 

"Omnia  consulta  mente  gerenda  tegens. " 

Foresight  is  half  the  battle.  * '  Hombre  apercebido, 
medio  combatido,"  says  Don  Quixote,  or  Sancho, 
I  do  not  remember  which.  Had  Queen  Bess 
weighed  well  in  her  own  mind  the  probable  conse- 
quences of  this  lamentable  traffic,  it  is  likely  she 
would  not  have  been  owner  of  two  vessels  in  Sir 
John  Hawkins's  squadron,  which  committed  the 
first  robbery  in  negro  flesh  on  the  coast  of  Africa. 
As  philanthropy  is  the  very  life  and  soul  of  this 
momentous  question  on  slavery,  which  is  certainly 
fraught  with  great  difficulties  and  danger,  per- 
haps it  would  be  as  well  at  present  for  the  nation 
to  turn  its  thoughts  to  poor  ill-fated  Ireland, 
where  oppression,  poverty,  and  rags  make  a 
heart-rending  appeal  to  the  feelings  of  the  benev- 
olent. 

But  to  proceed.  There  was  another  thing  which 
added  to  the  dulness  of  Barbadoes,  and  which 
seemed  to  have  considerable  effect  in  keeping 
away  strangers  from  the  island.  The  legislature 
had  passed  a  most  extraordinary  bill,  by  virtue 
of  which  every  person  who  arrives  at  Barbadoes 
is  obliged  to  pay  two  dollars,  and  two  dollars 


292    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

more  on  his  departure  from  it.  It  is  called  the 
alien  bill;  and  every  Barbadian  who  leaves  or 
returns  to  the  island,  and  every  Englishman  too, 
pays  the  tax ! 

Finding  no  vessel  here  for  Trinidad,  I  em- 
barked in  a  schooner  for  Demerara,  landed  there 
after  being  nearly  stranded  on  a  sand-bank,  and 
proceeded  without  loss  of  time  to  the  forests  in 
the  interior.  It  was  the  dry  season,  which  ren- 
ders a  residence  in  the  woods  very  delightful. 

There  are  three  species  of  Jacamar  to  be  found 
on  the  different  sand-hills  and  dry  savannas  of 
Demerara ;  but  there  is  another  much  larger  and 
far  more  beautiful  to  be  seen  when  you  arrive 
in  that  part  of  the  country  where  there  are  rocks. 
The  jacamar  has  no  affinity  to  the  wood- 
pecker or  kingfisher  nothwithstanding  what  trav- 
ellers affirm),  either  in  its  haunts  or  anatomy. 
The  jacamar  lives  entirely  on  insects,  but  never 
goes  in  search  of  them.  It  sits  patiently  for  hours 
together  on  the  branch  of  a  tree,  and  when  the 
incautious  insect  approaches,  it  flies  at  it  with  the 
rapidity  of  an  arrow,  seizes  it,  and  generally  re- 
turns to  eat  it  on  the  branch  which  it  had  just 
quitted.  It  has  not  the  least  attempt  at  song,  is 
very  solitary,  and  so  tame  that  you  may  get  within 
three  or  four  yards  of  it  before  it  takes  flight. 
The  males  of  all  the  different  species  which  I  have 
examined  have  white  feathers  on  the  throat.  I 
suspect  that  all  the  male  jacamars  hitherto  dis- 
covered have  this  distinctive  mark.  I  could  learn 
nothing  of  its  incubation.  The  Indians  informed 
me  that  one  species  of  jacamar  lays  its  eggs  in 
the  Wood- Ants'  nests,  which  are  so  frequent  in 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    293 

the  trees  of  Guiana,  and  appear  like  huge  black 
balls.  I  wish  there  had  been  proof  positive  of 
this ;  but  the  breeding  time  was  over ;  and  in  the 
ants'  nests  which  I  examined,  I  could  find  no 
marks  of  birds  having  ever  been  in  them.  Early 
in  January  the  jacamar  is  in  fine  plumage  for 
the  cabinet  of  the  naturalist.  The  largest  species 
measures  ten  inches  and  a  half  from  the  point  of 
the  beak  to  the  end  of  the  tail ;  its  name  amongst 
the  Indians  is  Una-waya-adoucati,  that  is,  grand- 
father of  the  jacamar.  It  is  certainly  a  splendid 
bird ;  and  in  brilliancy  and  changeableness  of  its 
metallic  colours,  it  yields  to  none  of  the  Asiatic 
and  African  feathered  tribe.  The  colours  of  the 
female  are  nearly  as  bright  as  those  of  the  male, 
but  she  wants  the  white  feathers  on  the  throat. 
The  large  jacamar  is  pretty  common  about  two 
hundred  miles  up  the  river  Demerara. 

Here  I  had  a  fine  opportimity  once  more  of 
examining  the  Three-toed  Sloth.  He  was  in  the 
house  with  me  for  a  day  or  two.  Had  I  taken  a 
description  of  him  as  he  lay  sprawling  on  the 
floor,  I  should  have  misled  the  world,  and  injured 
natural  history.  On  the  ground  he  appeared 
really  a  bungled  composition,  and  faulty  at  all 
points;  awkwardness  and  misery  were  depicted 
on  his  countenance;  and  when  I  made  him  ad- 
vance he  sighed  as  though  in  pain.  Perhaps  it  was, 
that  by  seeing  him  thus  out  of  his  element  as  it 
were,  that  the  Count  de  Buffon,  in  his  history  of 
the  sloth,  asks  the  question — "Wliy  should  not 
some  animals  be  created  for  misery,  since,  in  the 
human  species,  the  greatest  number  of  individuals 
are  devoted  to  pain  from  the  moment  of  their 


294    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

existence'?"  Were  the  question  put  to  me,  I  would 
answer,  I  cannot  conceive  that  any  of  them  are 
created  for  misery.  That  thousands  live  in  misery 
there  can  be  no  doubt;  but  then,  misery  has 
overtaken  them  in  their  path  through  life,  and 
wherever  man  has  come  up  with  them,  I  should 
suppose  they  have  seldom  escaped  from  experi- 
encing a  certain  proportion  of  misery. 

After  fully  satisfying  myself  that  it  only  leads 
the  world  into  error  to  describe  the  sloth  while 
he  is  on  the  ground,  or  in  any  place  except  in  a 
tree,  I  carried  the  one  I  had  in  my  possession  to 
his  native  haunts.  As  soon  as  he  came  in  con- 
tact with  the  branch  of  a  tree,  all  went  right  with 
him.  I  could  see  as  he  climbed  up  into  his  own 
country,  that  he  was  on  the  right  road  to  happi- 
ness; and  felt  persuaded  more  than  ever,  that 
the  world  has  hitherto  erred  in  its  conjectures 
concerning  the  sloth,  on  account  of  naturalists, 
not  having  given  a  description  of  him  when  he 
was  in  the  only  position  in  which  he  ought  to  have 
been  described,  namely,  clinging  to  the  branch  of 
a  tree. 

As  the  appearance  of  this  part  of  the  country 
bears  great  resemblance  to  Cayenne,  and  is  so 
near  to  it,  I  was  in  hopes  to  have  found  the 
Grande  Gobe  Mouche  of  Buffon,  and  the  septi- 
coloured  Tangara,  both  of  which  were  common  in 
Cayenne;  but  after  many  diligent  searches,  I 
did  not  succeed;  nor  could  I  learn  from  the  In- 
dians that  they  had  ever  seen  those  two  species  of 
birds  in  these  parts. 

Here  I  procured  the  Grosbeak  with  a  rich  scar- 
let body,  and  black  head   and   throat.     Buff  on 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    295 

mentions  it  as  coming  from  America.  I  had  been 
in  quest  of  it  for  years,  but  could  never  see  it, 
and  concluded  that  it  was  not  to  be  found  in  Dem- 
erara.  The  bird  is  of  a  greenish  brown  before 
it  acquires  its  rich  plumage. 

Amongst  the  bare  roots  of  the  trees,  alongside 
of  this  part  of  the  river,  a  red  crab  sometimes 
makes  its  appearance,  as  you  are  passing  up  and 
down.  It  is  preyed  upon  by  a  large  species  of 
Owl,  which  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  procure. 
Its  head,  back,  wings,  and  tail,  are  of  so  dark 
a  brown  as  almost  to  appear  black.  The  breast 
is  of  a  somewhat  lighter  brown.  The  belly  and 
thighs  are  of  a  dirty  yellow  white.  The  feathers 
round  the  eyes  are  of  the  same  dark  brown  as  the 
rest  of  the  body ;  and  then  comes  a  circle  of  white, 
which  has  the  appearance  of  a  large  pair  of 
spectacles.  I  strongly  suspect  that  the  dirty  yel- 
low white  of  the  belly  and  thighs  has  originally 
been  pure  white;  and  that  it  has  come  to  its 
present  colour  by  means  of  the  bird  darting  down 
upon  its  prey  in  the  mud.  But  this  is  mere  con- 
jecture. 

Here  too,  close  to  the  river,  I  frequently  saw 
the  bird  called  Sun-bird  by  the  English  colonists, 
and  Tirana  by  the  Spaniards  in  the  Oroonoque, 
It  is  very  elegant ;  and  in  its  outward  appearance 
approaches  near  to  the  heron  tribe;  still  it  does 
not  live  upon  fish.  Flies  and  insects  are  its  food ; 
and  it  takes  them  just  as  a  heron  does  fish,  by  ap- 
proaching near  and  then  striking  with  its  beak 
at  its  prey  so  quick,  that  it  has  no  chance  to 
escape.  The  beautiful  mixture  of  grey,  yellow, 
green,  black,  white,  and  chestnut  in  the  plumage 


296    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

of  this  bird,  baffles  any  attempt  to  give  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  distribution  of  them  which  would  be 
satisfactory  to  the  reader. 

There  is  something  remarkable  in  the  great 
Tinamou,  which  I  suspect  has  hitherto  escaped 
notice.  It  invariably  roosts  in  trees ;  but  the  feet 
are  so  small  in  proportion  to  the  body  of  this 
bulky  bird,  that  they  can  be  of  no  use  to  it  in 
grasping  the  branch;  and,  moreover,  the  hind 
toe  is  so  short,  that  it  does  not  touch  the  ground 
when  the  bird  is  walking.  The  back  part  of  the 
leg,  just  below  the  knee,  is  quite  fiat,  and  some- 
what concave.  On  it  are  strong  pointed  scales, 
which  are  very  rough,  and  catch  your  finger  as 
you  move  it  along  from  the  knee  to  the  toe. 
Now,  by  means  of  these  scales,  and  the  particular 
flatness  of  that  part  of  the  leg,  the  bird  is  enabled 
to  sleep  in  safety  upon  the  branch  of  a  tree. 

At  the  close  of  day  the  great  tinamou  gives  a 
loud,  monotonous,  plaintive  whistle,  and  then  im- 
mediately springs  into  the  tree.  By  the  light  of 
the  full  moon,  the  vigilant  and  cautious  naturalist 
may  see  him  sitting  in  the  position  already  de- 
scribed. 

The  small  Tinamou  has  nothing  that  can  be 
called  a  tail.  It  never  lays  more  than  one  egg, 
which  is  of  a  chocolate  colour.  It  makes  no 
nests,  but  merely  scratches  a  little  hollow  in  the 
sand,  generally  at  the  foot  of  a  tree. 

Here  we  have  an  instance  of  a  bird,  the  size  of 
a  partridge,  and  of  the  same  tribe,  laying  only 
one  egg,  while  the  rest  of  the  family,  from  the 
peahen  to  the  quail,  are  known  to  lay  a  consid- 
erable number.     The  foot  of  this  bird  is  very 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    297 

small  in  proportion,  but  the  back  part  of  the  leg 
bears  no  resemblance  to  that  of  the  larger  tina- 
mon;  hence  one  might  conclude  that  it  sleeps 
upon  the  ground. 

Independent  of  the  hollow  trees,  the  Vampires 
have  another  hiding-place.  They  clear  out  the 
inside  of  the  large  ants'  nests,  and  then  take  pos- 
session of  the  shell.  I  had  gone  about  half  a  day 
down  the  river,  to  a  part  of  the  forest  where  the 
wallaba-trees  were  in  great  plenty.  The  seeds 
had  ripened,  and  I  was  in  hopes  to  have  got  the 
large  scarlet  ara,  which  feeds  on  them.  But,  un- 
fortunately, the  time  had  passed  away,  and  the 
seeds  had  fallen. 

While  ranging  here  in  the  forest,  we  stopped 
under  an  ants'  nest;  and,  by  the  dirt  below,  con- 
jectured that  it  had  got  new  tenants.  Thinking 
it  no  harm  to  dislodge  them,  ^'vi  et  armis,"  an 
Indian  boy  ascended  the  tree;  but,  before  he 
reached  the  nest,  out  flew  above  a  dozen  Vampires. 

I  have  formerly  remarked,  that  I  wished  to  have 
it  in  mj  power  to  say,  that  I  had  been  sucked  by 
the  vampire.  I  gave  them  many  an  opportunity, 
but  they  always  fought  shy ;  and  though  they  now 
sucked  a  young  man  of  the  Indian  breed  very 
severely,  as  he  was  sleeping  in  his  hammock  in 
the  shed  next  to  mine,  they  would  have  nothing 
to  do  with  me.  His  great  toe  seemed  to  have  all 
the  attractions.  I  examined  it  minutely  as  he 
was  bathing  it  in  the  river  at  daybreak.  The 
midnight  surgeon  had  made  a  hole  in  it,  almost 
of  a  triangular  shape,  and  the  blood  was  then 
running  from  it  apace.  His  hammock  was  so 
defiled  and  stained  with  clotted  blood,  that  he 


298    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

was  obliged  to  beg  an  old  black  woman  to  wash 
it.  As  she  was  taking  it  down  to  the  river  side, 
she  spread  it  out  before  me,  and  shook  her  head. 
I  remarked,  that  I  supposed  her  own  toe  was  too 
old  and  tough  to  invite  the  Vampire-doctor  to 
get  his  supper  out  of  it;  and  she  answered,  with 
a  grin,  that  doctors  generally  preferred  young 
people. 

Nobody  has  yet  been  able  to  inform  me  how  it 
is  that  the  vampire  manages  to  draw  such  a  large 
quantity  of  blood,  generally  from  the  toe,  and 
the  patient,  all  the  time,  remain  in  a  profound 
sleep.  I  have  never  heard  of  an  instance  of  a 
man  waking  under  the  operation.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  continues  in  a  sound  sleep,  and  at  the 
time  of  rising,  his  eyes  first  inform  him  that  there 
has  been  a  thirsty  thief  on  his  toe. 

The  teeth  of  the  vampire  are  very  sharp,  and 
not  unlike  those  of  the  rat.  If  it  be  that  he  in- 
flicts the  wounds  with  his  teeth,  (and  he  seems  to 
have  no  other  instruments),  one  would  suppose 
that  the  acuteness  of  the  pain  would  cause  the 
person  who  is  sucked,  to  awake.  We  are  in  dark- 
ness in  this  matter;  and  I  know  of  no  means  by 
which  one  might  be  enabled  to  throw  light  upon 
it.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  future  wanderer 
through  the  wilds  of  Guiana,  will  be  more  fortu- 
nate than  I  have  been,  and  catch  this  nocturnal 
depredator  in  the  fact.  I  have  once  before  men- 
tioned that  I  killed  a  vampire  which  measured 
thirty- two  inches  from  wing  to  wing  extended; 
but  others,  which  I  have  since  examined,  have 
generally  been  from  twenty  to  twenty-six  inches 
in  dimension. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    299 

The  large  Immming-bird,  called  by  the  Indians 
Karabimiti,  invariably  builds  its  nests  in  the 
slender  branches  of  the  trees  which  hang  over  the 
rivers  and  creeks.  In  appearance,  it  is  like  brown 
tanned  leather,  and  without  a  particle  of  lining. 
The  rim  of  the  nest  is  double  inwards,  and  I  al- 
ways conjectured  that  it  had  taken  this  shape 
on  account  of  the  body  of  the  bird  pressing 
against  it  while  she  was  laying  her  eggs.  But 
this  is  quite  a  wrong  conjecture.  Instinct  has 
taught  the  l)ird  to  give  it  this  shape,  in  order  that 
the  eggs  may  be  prevented  from  rolling  out. 

The  trees  on  the  river's  bank  are  particularly 
exposed  to  violent  gusts  of  wind,  and  while  I  have 
been  sitting  in  the  canoe,  and  looking  on,  I  have 
seen  the  slender  branch  of  the  tree  which  held  the 
humming-bird's  nest  so  \'iolently  shaken,  that  the 
bottom  of  the  inside  of  the  nest  has  appeared, 
and  had  there  been  nothing  at  the  rim  to  stop  the 
eggs,  they  must  inevitably  have  been  jerked  into 
the  water.  I  suspect  the  humming-bird  never 
lays  more  than  two  eggs.  I  never  found  more 
than  two  in  any  of  the  many  nests  which  have 
come  in  my  way.  The  eggs  were  always  white, 
without  any  spots  on  them. 

Probably  travellers  have  erred  in  asserting  that 
the  monkeys  of  South  America  throw  sticks  and 
fruit  at  their  pursuers.  I  have  had  fine  oppor- 
tunities of  narrowly  watching  the  different  species 
of  monkeys  which  are  found  in  the  wilds,  betwixt 
the  Amazons  and  the  Oroonoque.  I  entirely  ac- 
quit them  of  acting  on  the  offensive.  When  the 
monkeys  are  in  the  high  trees  over  your  head, 
the  dead  branches  will  now  and  then  fall  down 


300    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

upon  yon,  having  been  broken  off  as  the  monkeys 
pass  along  them ;  but  they  are  never  hurled  from 
their  hands. 

Monkeys,  commonly  so  called,  both  in  the  old 
and  new  continent,  may  be  classed  into  three 
grand  divisions:  namely,  the  ape,  which  has  no 
tail  whatever ;  the  baboon,  which  has  only  a  short 
tail;  and  the  monkey,  which  has  a  long  tail. 
There  are  no  apes,  and  no  baboons,  as  yet  dis- 
covered in  the  new  world.  Its  monkeys  may  be 
very  well  and  very  briefly  ranged  under  two 
heads :  namely,  those  with  hairy  and  bushy  tails ; 
and  those  whose  tails  are  bare  of  hair  under- 
neath, about  six  inches  from  the  extremity.  Those 
with  hairy  and  bushy  tails  climb  just  like  the 
squirrel,  and  make  no  use  of  the  tail  to  help  them 
from  branch  to  branch.  Those  who  have  the  tail 
bare  underneath  towards  the  end,  find  it  of  infinite 
advantage  to  them,  in  their  ascent  and  descent. 
They  apply  it  to  the  branch  of  the  tree,  as  though 
it  were  a  supple  finger,  and  frequently  swing  by 
it  from  the  branch  like  the  pendulum  of  a  clock. 
It  answers  all  the  purposes  of  a  fifth  hand  to  the 
monkey,  as  naturalists  have  already  observed. 

The  large  red  monkey  of  Demerara  is  not  a 
baboon,  though  it  goes  by  that  name,  having  a 
long  prensile  tail.^  Nothing  can  sound  more 
dreadful  than  its  nocturnal  bowlings.  While  lying 
in  your  hammock  in  these  gloomy  and  immeasur- 
able wilds,  you  hear  him  howling  at  intervals, 
from  eleven  o'clock  at  night  till  daybreak.  You 
would  suppose  that  half  the  wild  beasts  of  the 

'  I  believe  prensile  is  a  new-coined  word.  I  have  seen  it,  but 
do  not  remember  where. 


The  Song  of  the  Red  Monkey 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    301 

forest  were  collecting  for  the  work  of  carnage. 
Now,  it  is  the  tremendous  roar  of  the  jaguar,  as 
he  springs  on  his  prey:  now  it  changes  to  his 
terrible  and  deep-toned  growlings  as  he  is  pressed 
on  all  sides  by  superior  force ;  and  now,  you  hear 
his  last  dying  moan,  beneath  a  mortal  wound. 

Some  naturalists  have  supposed  that  these  aw- 
ful sounds,  which  you  would  fancy  are  those  of  en- 
raged and  dying  wild  beasts,  proceed  from  a 
number  of  the  red  monkeys  howling  in  concert. 
One  of  them  alone  is  capable  of  producing  all  these 
sounds;  and  the  anatomists,  on  an  inspection 
of  his  trachea,  will  be  fully  satisfied  that  this  is 
the  case.  When  you  look  at  him,  as  he  is  sitting 
on  the  branch  of  a  tree,  you  will  see  a  lump  in 
his  throat,  the  size  of  a  large  hen's  egg.  In  dark 
and  cloudy  weather,  and  just  before  a  squall  of 
rain,  this  monkey  will  often  howl  in  the  daytime ; 
and  if  you  advance  cautiously,  and  get  under  the 
high  and  tufted  tree  where  he  is  sitting,  you  may 
have  a  capital  opportunity  of  witnessing  his  won- 
derful powers  of  producing  these  dreadful  and 
discordant  sounds.  --, 

His  flesh  is  good  food;  but  when  skinned,  his 
appearance  is  so  like  that  of  a  young  one  of  our 
own  species,  that  a  delicate  stomach  might  pos- 
sibly revolt  at  the  idea  of  putting  a  knife  and 
fork  into  it.  However,  I  can  affirm,  from  experi- 
ence, that  after  a  long  and  dreary  march  through 
these  remote  forests,  the  flesh  of  this  monkey  is 
not  to  be  sneezed  at,  when  boiled  in  Cayenne  pep- 
per, or  roasted  on  a  stick  over  a  good  fire.  A 
young  one  tastes  not  unlike  a  kid,  and  the  old  ones 
have  somewhat  the  flavour  of  he-goat.  -^ 


302    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

I  mentioned,  in  a  former  adventure,  that  I  had 
hit  upon  an  entirely  new  plan  of  making  the  skins 
of  quadrupeds  retain  their  exact  form  and  feature. 
Intense  application  to  the  subject  has  since  that 
period  enabled  me  to  shorten  the  process,  and 
hit  the  character  of  an  animal  to  a  very  great 
nicety,  even  to  the  preservation  of  the  pouting 
lip,  dimples,  warts,  and  wrinkles  on  the  face.  I 
got  a  fine  specimen  of  the  howling  monkey;  and 
took  some  pains  with  it,  in  order  to  show  the  im- 
mense difference  that  exists  betwixt  the  features 
of  this  monkey,  and  those  of  man. 

I  also  procured  an  animal  which  has  caused  not 
a  little  speculation  and  astonishment.  In  my 
opinion,  his  thick  coat  of  hair,  and  great  length 
of  tail,  put  his  species  out  of  all  question;  but 
then  his  face  and  head  cause  the  inspector  to 
pause  for  a  moment,  before  he  ventures  to  pro- 
nounce his  opinion  of  the  classification.  He  was 
a  large  animal,  and  as  I  was  pressed  for  daylight, 
and  moreover,  felt  no  inclination  to  have  the 
whole  weight  of  his  body  upon  my  back,  I  con- 
tented myself  with  his  head  and  shoulders,  which 
I  cut  off:  and  have  brought  them  with  me  to 
Europe.^  I  have  since  found,  that  I  acted  quite 
right  in  doing  so,  having  had  enough  to  answer 
for  the  head  alone,  without  saying  anything  of  his 
hands  and  feet,  and  of  his  tail,  which  appendage, 
Lord  Kames  asserts,  belongs  to  us. 

The  features  of  this  animal  are  quite  of  the 

*My  young  friend,  Mr.  J.  H.  Foljambe,  eldest  son  of  Thomas 
Foljambe,  Esq.  of  Wakefield,  has  made  a  drawing  of  the  head  and 
shoulders  of  this  animal,  and  it  is  certainly  a  most  correct  and 
striking  likeness  of  the  original. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    303 

Grecian  cast;  and  he  has  a  placidity  of  counte- 
nance which  shows  that  things  went  well  with  him 
when  in  life.  Some  gentlemen  of  great  skill  and 
talent,  on  inspecting  his  head,  were  convinced 
that  the  whole  series  of  its  features  has  been 
changed.  Others  again  have  hesitated,  and  be- 
trayed donbts,  not  being  able  to  make  up  their 
minds,  whether  it  be  possible,  that  the  brute  fea- 
tures of  the  monkey  can  be  changed  into  the  noble 
countenance  of  man. — ''Scinditur  vulgus."  One 
might  argue  at  considerable  length  on  this  novel 
subject;  and  perhaps,  after  all,  produce  little 
more  than  prolix  pedantry.  "Vox  et  praeterea 
nihil.'' 

Let  us  suppose  for  an  instant,  that  it  is  a  new 
species.  Well ; ' '  Una  golondrina  no  hace  verano ;  *  * 
one  swallow  does  not  make  summer,  as  Sancho 
Panza  says.  Still,  for  all  that,  it  would  be  well 
worth  while  going  out  to  search  for  it ;  and  these 
times  of  Pasco-Peruvian  enterprise  are  favour- 
able to  the  undertaking.  Perhaps,  gentle  reader, 
you  would  wish  me  to  go  in  quest  of  another.  I 
would  beg  leave  respectfully  to  answer,  that  the 
way  is  dubious,  long,  and  dreary;  and  though, 
unfortunately,  I  cannot  allege  the  excuse  of  ''me 
pia  conjux  detinet,"  still  I  would  fain  crave  a 
little  repose.  I  have  already  been  a  long  while 
errant : — 

"Longa  mihi  exilia,  et  vastum  maris  aequor  aravi, 
Ne  mandate  mihi,  nam  ego  sum  def essus  agendo. '  * 

Should  anybody  be  induced  to  go,  great  and  in- 
numerable are  the  discoveries  yet  to  be  made 
in  those  remote  wilds ;  and  should  he  succeed  in 


304    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

bringing  home,  even  a  head  alone,  with  features 
as  perfect  as  those  of  that  which  I  have  brought, 
far  from  being  envious  of  him,  I  should  consider 
him  a  modern  Alcides,  fully  entitled  to  register 
a  thirteenth  labour.  Now  if,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  argue,  that  this  head  in  question  has  had  all 
its  original  features  destroyed,  and  a  set  of  new 
ones  given  to  it,  by  what  means  has  this  hitherto 
unheard-of  change  been  effected?  Nobody  in  our 
museums  has  as  yet  been  able  to  restore  the  nat- 
ural features  to  stuffed  animals ;  and  he  who  has 
any  doubts  of  this,  let  him  take  a  living  cat  or 
dog,  and  compare  them  with  a  stuffed  cat  or  dog 
in  any  of  the  first-rate  museums.  A  momentary 
glance  of  the  eye  would  soon  settle  his  doubts  on 
this  head. 

If  I  have  succeeded  in  effacing  the  features  of 
a  brute,  and  putting  those  of  a  man  in  their  place, 
we  might  be  entitled  to  say,  that  the  sun  of  Pro- 
teus has  risen  to  our  museums : — 

"Unius  hie  faciem,  facies  transformat  in  omnes; 

Nunc  homo,  nunc  tigris;     nunc  equa,  nunc  mulier.** 

If  I  have  effected  this,  we  can  now  give  to  one 
side  of  the  skin  of  a  man's  face  the  appearance 
of  eighty  years,  and  to  the  other  side  that  of 
blooming  seventeen.  We  could  make  the  forehead 
and  eyes  serene  in  youthful  beauty,  and  shape 
the  mouth  and  jaws  to  the  features  of  a  malicious 
old  ape.  Here  is  a  new  field  opened  to  the  ad- 
venturous and  experimental  naturalist:  I  have 
trodden  it  up  and  down  till  I  am  almost  weary. 
To  get  at  it  myself  I  have  groped  through  an 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    305 
alley,  which  may  be  styled,  in  the  words  of  Ovid, — 

**Arduus,  obliquus,  caligine  densus  opacit.'* 

I  pray  thee,  gentle  reader,  let  me  out  a  while. 
Time  passes  on  apace;  and  I  want  to  take  thee 
to  have  a  peep  at  the  spots  where  mines  are  sup- 
posed to  exist  in  Guiana.  As  the  story  of  this 
singular  head  has,  probably,  not  been  made  out 
to  thy  satisfaction,  perhaps  (I  may  say  it  nearly 
in  Corporal  Trim's  words),  on  some  long  and 
dismal  winter's  evening,  but  not  now,  I  may  tell 
thee  more  about  it ;  together  with  that  of  another 
head,  which  is  equally  striking. 

It  is  commonly  reported,  and  I  think  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  the  fact,  that  when  Demerara 
and  Essequibo  were  under  the  Dutch  flag,  there 
were  mines  of  gold  and  silver  opened  near  to 
the  river  Essequibo.  The  miners  were  not  suc- 
cessful in  their  undertaking,  and  it  is  generally 
conjectured  that  their  failure  proceeded  from 
inexperience. 

Now,  when  you  ascend  the  Essequibo,  some  hun- 
dred miles  above  the  place  where  these  mines  are 
said  to  be  found,  you  get  into  a  high,  rocky,  and 
mountainous  country.  Here  many  of  the  moun- 
tains have  a  very  barren  aspect,  producing  only 
a  few  stinted  shrubs,  and  here  and  there  a  tuft  of 
coarse  grass.  I  could  not  learn  that  they  had 
ever  been  explored,  and  at  this  day  their  miner- 
alogy is  totally  unknown  to  us.  The  Indians  are 
so  thinly  scattered  in  this  part  of  the  country, 
that  there  would  be  no  impropriety  in  calling  it 
uninhabited : — 

"Apparent  rari  errantes  in  gurgite  vasto.*' 

20 


306    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

It  remains  to  be  yet  learnt,  wlietlier  tliis  portion 
of  Guiana  be  worth  looking  after,  with  respect 
to  its  supposed  mines.  The  mining  speculations 
at  present  are  flowing  down  another  channel. 
The  rage  in  England  for  working  the  mines  of 
other  states  has  now  risen  to  such  a  pitch,  that 
it  would  require  a  considerable  degree  of  caution 
in  a  mere  wanderer  of  the  woods,  in  stepping  for- 
ward to  say  anything  that  might  tend  to  raise  or 
depress  the  spirits  of  the  speculators. 

A  question  or  two,  however,  might  be  asked. 
When  the  revolted  colonies  shall  have  repaired  in 
some  measure  the  ravages  of  war,  and  settled 
their  own  political  economy  upon  a  firm  founda- 
tion, will  they  quietly  submit  to  see  foreigners 
carrying  away  those  treasures  which  are  abso- 
lutely part  of  their  own  soil,  and  which  necessity 
(necessity  has  no  law)  forced  them  to  barter  away 
in  their  hour  of  need?  Now,  if  it  should  so  happen 
that  the  masters  of  the  country  begin  to  repent  of 
their  bargain,  and  become  envious  of  the  riches 
which  foreigners  carry  off,  many  a  teasing  law 
might  be  made,  and  many  a  vexatious  enaction 
might  be  put  in  force,  that  would,  in  all  proba- 
bility, bring  the  speculators  into  trouble  and 
disappointment. 

Besides  this  consideration,  there  is  another 
circumstance  which  ought  not  to  be  overlooked. 
I  allude  to  the  change  of  masters  nearly  through- 
out the  whole  of  America.  It  is  a  curious  subject 
for  the  European  philosopher  to  moralize  upon, 
and  for  the  politician  to  examine.  The  more  they 
consider  it,  the  more  they  will  be  astonished.  If 
we  may  judge  by  what  has  already  taken  place, 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    307 

we  are  entitled  to  predict,  that  in  a  very  few  years 
more,  no  European  banner  will  be  seen  to  float  in 
any  part  of  the  new  world.  Let  us  take  a  cursory 
view  of  it. 

England  some  years  ago  possessed  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  present  United  States.  France  had 
Louisiana;  Spain  held  the  Floridas,  Mexico, 
Darien,  Terra  Firma,  Buenos  Ayres,  Paraguay, 
Chili,  Peru,  and  California;  and  Portugal  ruled 
the  whole  of  Brazil.  All  these  immense  regions 
are  now  independent  states.  England,  to  be  sure, 
still  has  Canada,  Nova  Scotia,  and  a  few  creeks 
on  the  coast  of  Labrador;  also  a  small  settle- 
ment in  Honduras,  and  the  wilds  of  Demerara  and 
Essequibo;  and  these  are  all.  France  has  not  a 
foot  of  ground  except  the  forests  of  Cayenne. 
Portugal  has  lost  every  province;  Spain  is 
blockaded  in  nearly  her  last  citadel ;  and  the  Dutch 
flag  is  only  seen  in  Surinam.  Nothing  more  now 
remains  to  Europe  of  this  immense  continent, 
where,  but  a  very  few  years  ago,  she  reigned 
triumphant. 

With  regard  to  the  West  India  Islands,  they 
may  be  considered  as  the  mere  outposts  of  this 
mammoth  domain.  St.  Domingo  has  already 
shaken  off  her  old  masters,  and  become  a  star  of 
observation  to  the  rest  of  the  sable  brethren. 
The  anti-slavery  associations  of  England,  full  of 
benevolence  and  activity,  have  opened  a  tremen- 
dous battery  upon  the  last  remaining  forts,  which 
the  lords  of  the  old  continent  still  hold  in  the  new 
world ;  and,  in  all  probability,  will  not  cease  firing 
till  they  shall  have  caused  the  last  flag  to  be 
struck,  of  Europe's  late  mighty  empire  in  the 


308    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

Transatlantic  regions.  It  cannot  well  be  doubted, 
but  that  the  sable  hordes  in  the  West  Indies  will 
like  to  follow  good  example,  whenever  they  shall 
have  it  in  their  power  to  do  so. 

Now  with  St.  Domingo  as  an  example  before 
them,  how  long  will  it  be  before  they  try  to  raise 
themselves  into  independent  states?  And  if  they 
should  succeed  in  crushing  us  in  these  our  last 
remaining  tenements,  I  would  bet  ten  to  one  that 
none  of  the  new  governments  will  put  on  mourn- 
ing for  our  departure  out  of  the  new  world.  We 
must  well  remember,  that  our  own  government 
was  taxed  with  injustice  and  oppression  by  the 
United  States  during  their  great  struggle;  and 
the  British  press  for  years  past  has,  and  is  still 
teeming  with  every  kind  of  abuse  and  unbecoming 
satire  against  Spain  and  Portugal  for  their  con- 
duct towards  the  now  revolted  colonies. 

France  also  comes  in  for  her  share  of  obloquy. 
Now,  this  being  the  case,  will  not  America  at 
large  wish  most  devoutly  for  the  day  to  come 
when  Europe  shall  have  no  more  dominion  over 
her?  WiU  she  not  say  to  us,  our  new  forms  of 
government  are  very  different  from  your  old 
ones.  We  will  trade  with  you,  but  we  shall  al- 
ways be  very  suspicious  of  you  as  long  as  you 
retain  possession  of  the  West  Indies,  which  are, 
as  we  may  say,  close  to  our  door-steads.  You 
must  be  very  cautious  how  you  interfere  in  our 
politics;  for,  if  we  find  you  meddling  with  them, 
and  by  that  means  cause  us  to  come  to  logger- 
heads, we  shall  be  obliged  to  send  you  back  to 
your  own  homes,  three  or  four  thousand  miles 
across  the  Atlantic;    and  then,  with  that  great 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     309 

ditch  betwixt  us,  we  may  hope  we  shall  be  good 
friends.  He  who  casts  his  eye  on  the  East  Indies, 
will  there  see  quite  a  different  state  of  things. 
The  conquered  districts  have  merely  changed 
one  European  master  for  another;  and  I  believe 
there  is  no  instance  of  any  portion  of  the  East 
Indies  throwing  off  the  yoke  of  the  Europeans 
and  establishing  a  government  of  their  own. 

Ye  who  are  versed  in  politics,  and  study  the  rise 
and  fall  of  empires,  and  know  what  is  good  for 
civilized  man,  and  what  is  bad  for  him,  or  in 
other  words,  what  will  make  him  happy  and  what 
will  make  him  miserable — tell  us  how  comes  it 
that  Europe  has  lost  almost  her  last  acre  in  the 
boundless  expanse  of  territory  which  she  so  lately 
possessed  in  the  west,  and  still  contrives  to  hold 
her  vast  property  in  the  extensive  regions  of  the 
east? 

But  whither  am  I  going?  vl  find  myself  on  a 
new  and  dangerous  path.  Pardon,  gentle  reader, 
this  sudden  deviation.  Methinks  I  hear  thee  say- 
ing to  me, — 

"Tramite  quo  tendis,  majoraque  viribus  audes." 

I  grant  that  I  have  erred,  but  I  will  do  so  no 
more.  In  general  I  avoid  politics;  they  are  too 
heavy  for  me,  and  I  am  aware  that  they  have 
caused  the  fall  of  many  a  strong  and  able  man; 
they  require  the  shoulders  of  Atlas  to  support 
their  weight. 

When  I  was  in  the  rocky  mountains  of  Ma- 
coushia,  in  the  month  of  June,  1812,  I  saw  four 
young  Cocks  of  the  Rock  in  an  Indian's  hut;  they 


310    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

had  been  taken  out  of  the  nest  that  week.  They 
were  of  a  uniform  dirty  brown  colour,  and  by  the 
position  of  the  young  feathers  upon  the  head, 
you  might  see  that  there  would  be  a  crest  there 
when  the  bird  arrived  at  maturity.  By  seeing 
young  ones  in  the  month  of  June,  I  immediately 
concluded  that  the  old  cock  of  the  rock  would  be 
in  fine  plumage  from  the  end  of  November  to  the 
beginning  of  May:  and  that  the  naturalist,  who 
was  in  quest  of  specimens  for  his  museum,  ought 
to  arrange  his  plans  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be 
able  to  get  into  Macoushia  during  these  months. 
However,  I  find  now,  that  no  exact  period  can  be 
fixed;  for,  in  December,  1824,  an  Indian,  in  the 
river  Demerara,  gave  me  a  young  cock  of  the  rock 
not  a  month  old,  and  it  had  just  been  brought 
from  the  Macoushi  country.  By  having  a  young 
specimen  at  this  time  of  the  year,  it  puts  it  out  of 
one's  power  to  say  at  what  precise  time  the  old 
birds  are  in  full  plumage.  I  took  it  on  board  a 
ship  with  me  for  England,  but  it  was  so  very 
susceptible  of  cold  that  it  shivered  and  died,  three 
days  after  we  had  passed  Antigua. 

If  ever  there  should  be  a  great  demand  for 
large  supplies  of  gum-elastic,  commonly  called 
India-rubber,  it  may  be  procured  in  abundance 
far  away  in  the  wilds  of  Demerara  and  Essequibo. 

Some  years  ago,  when  I  was  in  the  Macoushi 
country  there  was  a  capital  trick  played  upon  me 
about  India-rubber.  It  is  almost  too  good  to  be 
left  out  of  these  Wanderings,  and  it  shows  that 
the  wild  and  uneducated  Indian  is  not  without 
abilities.  Weary  and  sick,  and  feeble  through 
loss  of  blood,  I  arrived  at  some  Indian  huts,  which 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     311 

were  about  two  hours  distant  from  the  place 
where  the  gum-elastic  trees  grew.  After  a  day 
and  a  night's  rest  I  went  to  them,  and  with  my 
own  hands  made  a  fine  ball  of  pure  India-rubber ; 
it  hardened  immediately  it  became  exposed  to  the 
air,  and  its  elasticity  was  almost  incredible. 

While  procuring  it,  exposure  to  the  rain,  which 
fell  in  torrents,  brought  on  a  return  of  inflamma- 
tion in  the  stomach,  and  I  was  obliged  to  have 
recourse  again  to  the  lancet,  and  to  use  it  with 
an  unsparing  hand.  I  wanted  another  ball,  but 
was  not  in  a  state  the  next  morning  to  proceed  to 
the  trees.  A  fine  interesting  young  Indian  ob- 
serving my  eagerness  to  have  it,  tendered  his 
services,  and  asked  me  two  handsful  of  fish-hooks 
for  his  trouble. 

Off  he  went,  and  to  my  great  surprise  returned 
in  a  very  short  time.  Bearing  in  mind  the  trouble 
and  time  it  had  cost  me  to  make  a  ball,  I  could 
account  for  this  Indian's  expedition  in  no  other 
way  except  that,  being  an  inhabitant  of  the  forest, 
he  knew  how  to  go  about  his  work  in  a  much 
shorter  way  than  I  did.  His  ball,  to  be  sure,  had 
very  little  elasticity  in  it.  I  tried  it  repeatedly, 
but  it  never  rebounded  a  yard  high.  The  young 
Indian  watched  me  with  great  gravity,  and  when 
I  made  him  understand  that  I  expected  the  ball 
would  dance  better,  he  called  another  Indian,  who 
knew  a  little  English,  to  assure  me  that  I  might 
be  quite  easy  on  that  score.  The  young  rogue, 
in  order  to  render  me  a  complete  dupe,  brought 
the  new  moon  to  his  aid.  He  gave  me  to  under- 
stand that  the  ball  was  like  the  little  moon,  which 
he  pointed  to,  and  by  the  time  it  grew  big  and  old, 


312    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

the  ball  would  bounce  beautifully.  This  satisfied 
me,  and  I  gave  him  the  fish-hooks,  which  he  re- 
ceived without  the  least  change  of  countenance. 

I  bounced  the  ball  repeatedly  for  two  months 
after,  but  I  found  that  it  still  remained  in  its 
infancy.  At  last  I  suspected  that  the  savage  (to 
use  a  vulgar  phrase)  had  come  Yorkshire  over 
me;  and  so  I  determined  to  find  out  how  he  had 
managed  to  take  me  in.  I  cut  the  ball  in  two,  and 
then  saw  what  a  taught  trick  he  had  played  me. 
It  seems  he  had  chewed  some  leaves  into  a  lump, 
the  size  of  a  walnut,  and  then  dipped  them  in  the 
liquid  gum-elastic.  It  immediately  received  a 
coat  about  as  thick  as  a  sixpence.  He  then  rolled 
some  more  leaves  round  it,  and  gave  it  another 
coat.  He  seems  to  have  continued  this  process 
till  he  made  the  ball  considerably  larger  than  the 
one  I  had  procured;  and  in  order  to  put  his 
roguery  out  of  all  chance  of  detection,  he  made 
the  last  and  outer  coat  thicker  than  a  dollar. 
This  Indian  would,  no  doubt,  have  thriven  well 
in  some  of  our  great  towns. 

Finding  that  the  rainy  season  was  coming  on, 
I  left  the  wilds  of  Demerara  and  Essequibo  with 
regret,  towards  the  close  of  December,  1824 ;  and 
reached  once  more  the  shores  of  England,  after 
a  long  and  unpleasant  passage. 

Ere  we  part,  kind  reader,  I  could  wish  to  draw 
a  little  of  thy  attention  to  the  instructions  which 
are  to  be  found  at  the  end  of  this  book.  Twenty 
years  have  now  rolled  away  since  I  first  began  to 
examine  the  specimens  of  zoology  in  our  museums. 
As  the  system  of  preparation  is  founded  in  error, 
nothing  but   deformity,    distortion,    and   dispro- 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     313 

portion,  will  be  the  result  of  the  best  intentions 
and  utmost  exertions  of  the  workman.  Canova's 
education,  taste,  and  genius  enabled  him  to  pre- 
sent to  the  world  statues  so  correct  and  beautiful 
that  they  are  worthy  of  universal  admiration. 
Had  a  common  stonecutter  tried  his  hand  upon 
the  block  out  of  which  these  statues  were  sculp- 
tured, what  a  lamentable  want  of  symmetry  and 
fine  countenance  there  would  have  been.  Now, 
when  we  reflect  that  the  preserved  specimens  in 
our  museums  and  private  collections  are  always 
done  upon  a  wrong  principle,  and  generally  by 
low  and  illiterate  people,  whose  daily  bread  de- 
pends upon  the  shortness  of  time  in  which  they 
can  get  through  their  work,  and  whose  opposition 
to  the  true  way  of  preparing  specimens  can  only 
be  surpassed  by  their  obstinacy  in  adhering  to  the 
old  method;  can  we  any  longer  wonder  at  their 
want  of  success ;  or  hope  to  see  a  single  specimen 
produced  that  will  be  worth  looking  atf  With 
this  I  conclude,  hoping  that  thou  hast  received 
some  information,  and  occasionally  had  a  smile 
upon  thy  countenance,  while  perusing  these 
''Wanderings;"  and  begging,  at  the  same  time, 
to  add  that 

Well  I  know  thy  penetration 

Many  a  stain  and  blot  will  see, 
In  the  languid,  long  narration, 

Of  my  sylvan  errantry. 


For  the  pen  too  oft  was  weary 
In   the  wandering  writer's   hand, 

As  he  roved  through  deep  and  dreary 
Forests,  in  a  distant  land. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  314 

Show  thy  mercy,  gentle  reader, 

Let  him  not  entreat  in  vain; 
It  will  be  his  strength's  best  feeder, 

Should  he  ever  go  again. 

And  who  knows  how  soon,  complaining 

Of  a  cold  and  wifeless  home. 
He  may  leave  it,  and  again  in 

Equatorial  regions  roam? 

C.  W. 


ON   PRESERVING  BIRDS   FOR   CABINETS 
OF  NATURAL  HISTORY 

Were  you  to  pay  as  much  attention  to  birds  as 
the  sculptor  does  to  the  human  frame,  you  would 
immediately  see,  on  entering  a  museum,  that  the 
specimens  are  not  well  done. 

This  remark  will  not  be  thought  severe  when 
you  reflect  that  that  which  once  was  a  bird  has 
probably  been  stretched,  stuffed,  stiffened,  and 
wired  by  the  hand  of  a  common  clown.  Consider 
likewise  how  the  plumage  must  have  been  disor- 
dered by  too  much  stretching  or  drying,  and  per- 
haps sullied,  or  at  least  deranged,  by  the  pressure 
of  a  coarse  and  heavy  hand — plumage  which,  ere 
life  had  fled  from  within  it,  was  accustomed  to  be 
touched  by  nothing  rougher  than  the  dew  of 
heaven,  and  the  pure  and  gentle  breath  of  air. 

In  dissecting,  three  things  are  necessary  to 
ensure  success,  viz.,  a  penknife,  a  hand  not  coarse 
or  clumsy,  and  practice.  The  first  will  furnish 
you  with  the  means;  the  second  will  enable  you 
to  dissect;  and  the  third  cause  you  to  dissect 
well.  These  may  be  called  the  mere  mechanical 
requisites. 

In  stuffing,  you  require  cotton,  a  needle  and 
thread,  a  little  stick  the  size  of  a  common  knitting- 
needle,  glass  eyes,  a  solution  of  corrosive  subli- 
mate, and  any  kind  of  a  common  temporary  box 

315 


316    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

to  hold  the  specimen.  These  also  may  go  under 
the  same  denomination  as  the  former.  But  if  you 
wish  to  excel  in  the  art,  if  you  wish  to  be  in  orni- 
thology what  Angelo  was  in  sculpture,  you  must 
apply  to  profound  study  and  your  own  genius  to 
assist  you.  And  these  may  be  called  the  scientific 
requisites. 

You  must  have  a  complete  knowledge  of  orni- 
thological anatomy.  You  must  pay  close  atten- 
tion to  the  form  and  attitude  of  the  bird,  and  know 
exactly  the  proportion  each  curve,  or  extension, 
or  contraction,  or  expansion  of  any  particular 
part  bears  to  the  rest  of  the  body.  In  a  word, 
you  must  possess  Promethean  boldness,  and  bring 
down  fire  and  animation,  as  it  were,  into  your 
preserved  specimen. 

Repair  to  the  haunts  of  birds  on  plains  and 
mountains,  forests,  swamps,  and  lakes,  and  give 
up  your  time  to  examine  the  economy  of  the  dif- 
ferent orders  of  birds. 

Then  you  will  place  your  eagle  in  attitude  com- 
manding, the  same  as  Nelson  stood  in,  in  the  day 
of  battle,  on  the  Victory's  quarter-deck.  Your 
pie  will  seem  crafty,  and  ,iust  ready  to  take  flight, 
as  though  fearful  of  being  surprised  in  some  mis- 
chievous plunder.  Your  sparrow  will  retain  its 
wonted  pertness  by  means  of  placing  his  tail  a 
little  elevated,  and  giving  a  moderate  arch  to  the 
neck.  Your  vulture  will  show  his  sluggish  habits 
by  having  his  body  nearly  parallel  to  the  earth, 
his  wings  somewhat  drooping,  and  their  extrem- 
ities under  the  tail  instead  of  above  it — expressive 
of  ignoble  indolence. 

Your  dove  will  be  in  artless,  fearless  innocence ; 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     317 

looking  mildly  at  you,  with  its  neck,  not  too  much 
stretched,  as  if  uneasy  in  its  situation;  or  drawn 
too  close  into  the  shoulders,  like  one  wishing  to 
avoid  a  discovery;  but  in  moderate,  perpendic- 
ular length,  supporting  the  head  horizontally, 
which  will  set  off  the  breast  to  the  best  advantage. 
And  the  breast  ought  to  be  conspicuous,  and  have 
this  attention  paid  to  it;  for  when  a  young  lady 
is  sweet  and  gentle  in  her  manners,  kind  and  af- 
fable to  those  around  her;  when  her  eyes  stand 
in  tears  of  pity  for  the  woes  of  others,  and  she 
puts  a  small  portion  of  what  Providence  has 
blessed  her  with  into  the  hand  of  imploring  pov- 
erty and  hunger — then  we  say  she  has  the  breast 
of  a  turtle-dove. 

You  will  observe  how  beautifully  the  feathers 
of  a  bird  are  arranged,  one  falling  over  the  other 
in  nicest  order;  and  that,  where  this  charming 
harmony  is  interrupted,  the  defect,  though  not 
noticed  by  an  ordinary  spectator,  will  appear  im- 
mediately to  the  eye  of  a  naturalist.  Thus,  a  bird 
not  wounded  and  in  perfect  feather  must  be  pro- 
cured if  possible,  for  the  loss  of  feathers  can 
seldom  be  made  good;  and  where  the  deficiency 
is  great,  all  the  skill  of  the  artist  will  avail  him 
little  in  his  attempt  to  conceal  the  defect,  because, 
in  order  to  hide  it,  he  must  contract  the  skin, 
bring  down  the  upper  feathers,  and  shove  in  the 
lower  ones,  which  would  throw  all  the  surround- 
ing parts  into  contortion. 

You  will  also  observe  that  the  whole  of  the 
skin  does  not  produce  feathers,  and  that  it  is  very 
tender  where  the  feathers  do  not  grow.  The  bare 
parts  are  admirably  formed  for  expansion  about 


318    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

the  throat  and  stomach,  and  they  fit  into  the  dif- 
ferent cavities  of  the  body  at  the  wings,  shoulders, 
rump,  and  thighs  with  wonderful  exactness;  so 
that  in  stuffing  the  bird,  if  you  make  an  even 
rotund  surface  of  the  skin  where  these  cavities 
existed,  in  lieu  of  reforming  them,  all  symmetry, 
order,  and  proportion  are  lost  forever. 

You  must  lay  it  down  as  an  absolute  rule  that 
the  bird  is  to  be  entirely  skinned,  otherwise  you 
can  never  succeed  in  forming  a  true  and  pleasing 
specimen. 

You  will  allow  this  to  be  just,  after  reflecting  a 
moment  on  the  nature  of  the  fleshy  parts  and  ten- 
dons, which  are  often  left  in :  1st,  they  require  to 
be  well  seasoned  with  aromatic  spices ;  2dly,  they 
must  be  put  into  an  oven  to  dry;  3dly,  the  heat 
of  the  fire  and  the  natural  tendency  all  cured  flesh 
has  to  shrink  and  become  hard  renders  the  speci- 
men withered,  distorted,  and  too  small;  4thly, 
the  inside  then  becomes  like  a  ham  or  any  other 
dried  meat.  Ere  long  the  insects  claim  it  as  their 
own ;  the  feathers  begin  to  drop  off,  and  you  have 
the  hideous  spectacle  of  death  in  ragged  plumage. 

Wire  is  of  no  manner  of  use,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, a  great  nuisance;  for  where  it  is  intro- 
duced, a  disagreeable  stiffness  and  derangement 
of  symmetry  follow. 

The  head  and  neck  can  be  placed  in  any  atti- 
tude, the  body  supported,  the  wings  closed,  ex- 
tended or  elevated,  the  tail  depressed,  raised  or 
expanded,  the  thighs  set  horizontal  or  oblique, 
without  any  aid  from  wire.  Cotton  will  effect  all 
this. 

A  very  small  proportion  of  the  skull  bone,  say, 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     319 

from  the  forepart  of  the  eyes  to  the  bill,  is  to  be 
left  in;  though  even  this  is  not  absolutely  neces- 
sary. Part  of  the  wing-bones,  the  jaw-bones,  and 
half  of  the  thigh-bones,  remain.  Everything  else, 
flesh,  fat,  eyes,  bones,  brains,  and  tendons  are  all 
to  be  taken  away. 

While  dissecting,  it  will  be  of  use  to  keep  in 
mind, — That,  in  taking  off  the  skin  from  the  body, 
by  means  of  your  fingers  and  a  little  knife,  you 
must  try  to  shove  it,  in  lieu  of  pulling  it,  lest  you 
stretch  it. 

That,  you  must  press  as  lightly  as  possible  on 
the  bird,  and  every  now  and  then  take  a  view  of 
it,  to  see  that  the  feathers,  &c.,  are  all  right. 

That,  when  you  come  to  the  head,  you  must 
take  care  that  the  body  of  the  skin  rests  on  your 
knee;  for  if  you  allow  it  to  dangle  from  your 
hand,  its  own  weight  will  stretch  it  too  much. 

That,  throughout  the  whole  operation,  as  fast 
as  you  detach  the  skin  from  the  body,  you  must 
put  cotton  immediately  betwixt  the  body  and  it; 
and  this  will  effectually  prevent  any  fat,  blood,  or 
moisture  from  coming  in  contact  with  the  plu- 
mage. Here  it  may  be  observed  that,  on  the  belly 
you  find  an  inner  skin,  which  keeps  the  bowels  in 
their  place.  By  a  nice  operation  with  the  knife, 
you  can  cut  through  the  outer  skin,  and  leave  the 
inner  skin  whole.  Attention  to  this  will  render 
your  work  very  clean;  so  that,  with  a  little  care 
in  other  parts,  you  may  skin  a  bird  without  even 
soiling  your  finger  ends. 

As  you  can  seldom  get  a  bird  without  shooting 
it,  a  line  or  two  on  this  head  will  be  necessary. 
If  the  bird  be  still  alive,  press  it  hard  with  your 


320    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

finger  and  thumb,  just  behind  the  wings,  and  it 
will  soon  expire.  Carry  it  by  the  legs,  and  then, 
the  body  being  reversed,  the  blood  cannot  escape 
down  the  plumage  through  the  shot-holes.  As 
blood  will  often  have  issued  out  before  you  have 
laid  hold  of  the  bird,  find  out  the  shot-holes,  by 
dividing  the  feathers  with  your  fingers,  and  blow- 
ing on  them,  and  then,  with  your  penknife,  or  the 
leaf  of  a  tree,  carefully  remove  the  clotted  blood, 
and  put  a  little  cotton  on  the  hole.  If,  after  all, 
the  plumage  has  not  escaped  the  marks  of  blood ; 
or  if  it  has  imbibed  slime  from  the  ground,  wash 
the  part  in  water,  without  soap,  and  keep  gently 
agitating  the  feathers,  with  your  fingers,  till  they 
are  quite  dry.  Were  you  to  wash  them,  and  leave 
them  to  dry  by  themselves,  they  would  have  a 
very  mean  and  shrivelled  appearance. 

In  the  act  of  skinning  a  bird,  you  must  either 
have  it  upon  a  table,  or  upon  your  knee.  Prob- 
ably, you  will  prefer  your  knee;  because  when 
you  cross  one  knee  over  the  other,  and  have  the 
bird  upon  the  uppermost,  you  can  raise  it  to  your 
eye,  or  lower  it,  at  pleasure,  by  means  of  the  foot 
on  the  ground,  and  then  your  knee  will  always 
move  in  unison  with  your  body,  by  which  much 
stooping  will  be  avoided  and  lassitude  prevented. 

With  these  precautionary  hints  in  mind,  we  will 
now  proceed  to  dissect  a  bird.  Suppose  we  take  a 
hawk.  The  little  birds  will  thank  us,  with  a  song 
for  his  death,  for  he  has  oppressed  them  sorely; 
and  in  size  he  is  just  the  thing.  His  skin  is  also 
pretty  tough,  and  the  feathers  adhere  to  it. 

We  will  put  close  by  us  a  little  bottle  of  the  solu- 
tion of  corrosive   sublimate  in  alcohol;   also  a 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     321 

stick  like  a  common  knitting-needle,  and  a  handful 
or  two  of  cotton.  Now  fill  the  mouth  and  nostrils 
of  the  bird  with  cotton,  and  place  it  upon  your 
knee  on  its  back,  with  its  head  pointing  to  your 
left  shoulder.  Take  hold  of  the  knife  with  your 
two  first  fingers  and  thumb,  the  edge  upwards. 
You  must  not  keep  the  point  of  the  knife  perpen- 
dicular to  the  body  of  the  bird;  because,  were 
you  to  hold  it  so,  you  would  cut  the  inner  skin  of 
the  belly,  and  thus  let  the  bowels  out.  To  avoid 
this,  let  your  knife  be  parallel  to  the  body,  and 
then  you  will  divide  the  outer  skin  with  great 
ease. 

Begin  on  the  belly  below  the  breast-bone,  and 
cut  down  the  middle,  quite  to  the  vent.  This  done, 
put  the  bird  in  any  convenient  position,  and  sepa- 
rate the  skin  from  the  body,  till  you  get  at  the 
middle  joint  of  the  thigh.  Cut  it  through,  and  do 
nothing  more  there  at  present,  except  introducing 
cotton  all  the  way  on  that  side,  from  the  vent 
to  the  breast-bone.  Do  exactly  the  same  on  the 
opposite  side. 

Now  place  the  bird  perpendicular,  its  breast 
resting  on  your  knee,  with  its  back  towards  you. 
Separate  the  skin  from  the  body  on  each  side  at 
the  vent,  and  never  mind  at  present  the  part  from 
the  vent  to  the  root  of  the  tail.  Bend  the  tail 
gently  down  to  the  back,  and  while  your  finger 
and  thumb  are  keeping  down  the  detached  parts 
of  the  skin  on  each  side  of  the  vent,  cut  quite 
across,  and  deep,  till  you  see  the  back-bone,  near 
the  oil-gland  at  the  root  of  the  tail.  Sever  the 
back-bone  at  the  joint,  and  then  you  have  all  the 

21 


322    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

root  of  the  tail,  together  with  the  oil-gland,  dis- 
sected from  the  body.    Apply  plenty  of  cotton. 

After  this,  seize  the  end  of  the  back-bone  with 
your  finger  and  thumb :  and  now  you  can  hold  up 
the  bird  clear  of  your  knee,  and  turn  it  round  and 
round,  as  occasion  requires.  While  you  are  hold- 
ing it  thus,  contrive,  with  the  help  of  your  other 
hand  and  knife,  by  cutting  and  shoving,  to  get  the 
skin  pushed  up  till  you  come  to  where  the  wing 
joins  on  to  the  body. 

Forget  not  to  apply  cotton;  cut  this  joint 
through;  do  the  same  at  the  other  wing,  add 
cotton,  and  gently  push  the  skin  over  the  head; 
cut  out  the  roots  of  the  ears,  which  lie  very  deep 
in  the  head,  and  continue  skinning  till  you  reach 
the  middle  of  the  eye;  cut  the  nictitating  mem- 
brane quite  through,  otherwise  you  would  tear 
the  orbit  of  the  eye;  and  after  this,  nothing  diffi- 
cult intervenes  to  prevent  your  arriving  at  the 
root  of  the  bill. 

When  this  is  effected,  cut  away  the  body,  leav- 
ing a  little  bit  of  skull,  just  as  much  as  will  reach 
to  the  fore-part  of  the  eye;  clean  well  the  jaw- 
bones, fasten  a  little  cotton  at  the  end  of  your 
stick,  dip  it  into  the  solution,  and  touch  the  skull 
and  corresponding  part  of  the  skin,  as  you  can- 
not well  get  to  these  places  afterwards.  From 
the  time  of  pushing  the  skin  over  the  head,  you 
are  supposed  to  have  had  the  bird  resting  upon 
your  knee;  keep  it  there  still,  and  with  great 
caution  and  tenderness  return  the  head  through 
the  inverted  skin,  and  when  you  see  the  beak  ap- 
pearing, pull  it  very  gently  till  the  head  comes 
out  unruffled  and  unstained. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     323 

You  may  now  take  the  cotton  out  of  the  mouth ; 
cut  away  all  the  remaining  flesh  at  the  palate, 
and  whatever  may  have  remained  at  the  under 
jaw. 

Here  is  now  before  you  the  skin,  without  loss 
of  any  feathers,  and  all  the  flesh,  fat,  and  un- 
cleaned  bones  out  of  it,  except  the  middle  joint  of 
the  wings,  one  bone  of  the  thighs,  and  the  fleshy 
root  of  the  tail.  The  extreme  point  of  the  wing 
is  very  small,  and  has  no  flesh  on  it,  comparatively 
speaking,  so  that  it  requires  no  attention,  except 
touching  it  with  the  solution  from  the  outside. 
Take  all  the  flesh  from  the  remaining  joint  of  the 
wing,  and  tie  a  thread  about  four  inches  long  to 
the  end  of  it ;  touch  all  with  the  solution,  and  put 
the  wing-bone  back  into  its  place.  In  baring  this 
bone  you  must  by  no  means  pull  the  skin;  you 
would  tear  it  to  pieces  beyond  all  doubt,  for  the 
ends  of  the  long  feathers  are  attached  to  the  bone 
itself;  you  must  push  off  the  skin  with  your 
thumb-nail  and  forefinger.  Now  skin  the  thigh 
quite  to  the  knee ;  cut  away  all  flesh  and  tendons, 
and  leave  the  bone :  form  an  artificial  thigh  round 
it  with  cotton ;  apply  the  solution,  and  draw  back 
the  skin  over  the  artificial  thigh:  the  same  to 
the  other  thigh. 

Lastly,  proceed  to  the  tail;  take  out  the  inside 
of  the  oil-gland,  remove  all  the  remaining  flesh 
from  the  root,  till  you  see  the  ends  of  the  tail- 
feathers  ;  give  it  the  solution,  and  replace  it.  Now 
take  out  all  the  cotton  which  you  have  been  putting 
into  the  body  from  time  to  time  to  preserve  the 
feathers  from  grease  and  stains.  Place  the  bird 
upon  your  knee  on  its  back;  tie  together  the  two 


324    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

threads  which  you  had  fastened  to  the  end  of  the 
wing-joints,  leaving  exactly  the  same  space  be- 
twixt them  as  your  knowledge  in  anatomy  informs 
you  existed  there  when  the  bird  was  entire ;  hold 
the  skin  open  with  your  finger  and  thumb,  and 
apply  the  solution  to  every  part  of  the  inside. 
Neglect  the  head  and  neck  at  present;  they  are 
to  receive  it  afterwards. 

Fill  the  body  moderately  with  cotton,  lest  the 
feathers  on  the  belly  should  be  injured  whilst  you 
are  about  the  following  operation.  You  must 
recollect  that  half  of  the  thigh,  or  in  other  words, 
one  joint  of  the  thigh-bone,  has  been  cut  away. 
Now,  as  this  bone  never  moved  perpendicular  to 
the  body,  but,  on  the  contrary,  in  an  oblique  di- 
rection, of  course,  as  soon  as  it  is  cut  off,  the 
remaining  part  of  the  thigh  and  leg,  having  noth- 
ing now  to  support  them  obliquely,  must  naturally 
fall  to  their  perpendicular.  Hence  the  reason 
why  the  legs  appear  considerably  too  long.  To 
correct  this,  take  your  needle  and  thread,  fasten 
the  end  round  the  bone  inside,  and  then  push  the 
needle  through  the  skin  just  opposite  to  it.  Look 
on  the  outside,  and  after  finding  the  needle 
amongst  the  feathers,  tack  up  the  thigh  under  the 
wing  with  several  strong  stitches.  This  will 
shorten  the  thigh,  and  render  it  quite  capable  of 
supporting  the  weight  of  the  body  without  the 
help  of  wire.  This  done,  take  out  every  bit  of 
cotton,  except  the  artificial  thighs,  and  adjust  the 
wing-bones  (which  are  connected  by  the  thread) 
in  the  most  even  manner  possible,  so  that  one 
joint  does  not  appear  to  lie  lower  than  the  other ; 
for  unless  they  are  quite  equal,  the  wings  them- 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    325 

selves  will  be  unequal  when  you  come  to  put  tliem 
in  tlieir  proper  attitude.  Here  then  rests  the  shell 
of  the  poor  hawk,  ready  to  receive,  from  your 
skill  and  judgment,  the  size,  the  shape,  the  fea- 
tures and  expression  it  had,  ere  death,  and  your 
dissecting  hand,  brought  it  to  its  present  still 
and  formless  state.  The  cold  hand  of  death 
stamps  deep  its  mark  upon  the  prostrate  victim. 
When  the  heart  ceases  to  beat,  and  the  blood  no 
longer  courses  through  the  veins,  the  features 
collapse,  and  the  whole  frame  seems  to  shrink 
within  itself.  If  then  you  have  formed  your  idea 
of  the  real  appearance  of  the  bird  from  a  dead 
sj^ecimen,  you  will  be  in  error.  With  this  in  mind, 
and  at  the  same  time  forming  your  specimen  a 
trifle  larger  than  life,  to  make  up  for  what  it  will 
lose  in  drying,  you  will  reproduce  a  bird  that  will 
please  you. 

It  is  now  time  to  introduce  the  cotton  for  an 
artificial  body,  by  means  of  a  little  stick  like  a 
knitting-needle;  and  without  any  other  aid  or 
substance  than  that  of  this  little  stick  and  cotton, 
your  own  genius  must  produce  those  swellings 
and  cavities,  that  just  proportion,  that  elegance 
and  harmony  of  the  whole,  so  much  admired  in 
animated  nature,  so  little  attended  to  in  preserved 
specimens.  After  you  have  introduced  the  cotton, 
sew  up  the  orifice  you  originally  made  in  the 
belly,  beginning  at  the  vent.  And  from  time  to 
time,  till  you  arrive  at  the  last  stitch,  keep  adding 
a  little  cotton,  in  order  that  there  may  be  no  de- 
ficiency there.  Lastly,  dip  your  stick  into  the 
solution,  and  put  it  down  the  throat  three  or  four 
times,  in  order  that  every  part  may  receive  it. 


326    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

When  the  head  and  neck  are  filled  with  cotton 
quite  to  your  liking,  close  the  bill  as  in  nature. 
A  little  bit  of  bees'  wax,  at  the  point  of  it,  will 
keep  the  mandibles  in  their  proper  place.  A 
needle  must  be  stuck  into  the  lower  mandible  per- 
pendicularly. You  will  shortly  see  the  use  of  it. 
Bring  also  the  feet  together  by  a  pin,  and  then 
run  a  thread  through  the  knees,  by  which  you  may 
draw  them  to  each  other,  as  near  as  you  judge 
proper.  Nothing  now  remains  to  be  added  but  the 
eyes.  With  your  little  stick  make  a  hollow  in  the 
cotton  within  the  orbit,  and  introduce  the  glass 
eyes  through  the  orbit.  Adjust  the  orbit  to  them, 
as  in  nature,  and  that  requires  no  other  fastener. 

Your  close  inspection  of  the  eyes  of  animals 
will  already  have  informed  you,  that  the  orbit  is 
capable  of  receiving  a  much  larger  body  than  that 
part  of  the  eye  which  appears  within  it  when  in 
life.  So  that,  were  you  to  proportion  your  eye  to 
the  size  the  orbit  is  capable  of  receiving,  it  would 
be  far  too  large.  Inattention  to  this  has  caused 
the  eyes  of  every  specimen,  in  the  best  cabinets 
of  natural  history,  to  be  out  of  all  proportion. 
To  prevent  this,  contract  the  orbit,  by  means  of  a 
very  small  delicate  needle  and  thread,  at  that 
part  of  it  farthest  from  the  beak.  This  may  be 
done  with  such  nicety,  that  the  stitch  cannot  be 
observed;  and  thus  you  have  the  artificial  eye  in 
true  proportion. 

After  this,  touch  the  bill,  orbits,  feet,  and 
foimer  oil-gland  at  the  root  of  the  tail,  with  the 
solution,  and  then  you  have  given  to  the  hawk 
everything    necessary,    except    attitude,    and    a 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    327 

proper  degree  of  elasticity,  two  qualities  very 
essential. 

Procure  any  common  ordinary  Box,  fill  one  end 
of  it,  about  three-fourths  up  to  the  top,  with  cot- 
ton, forming  a  sloping  plane.  Make  a  moderate 
hollow  in  it  to  receive  the  bird.  Now  take  the 
hawk  in  your  hands,  and,  after  putting  the  wings 
in  order,  place  it  in  the  cotton,  with  its  legs  in  a 
sitting  posture.  The  head  will  fall  down.  Never 
mind.  Get  a  cork,  and  run  three  pins  into  the 
end,  just  like  a  three-legged  stool.  Place  it  under 
the  bird's  bill,  and  run  the  needle,  which  you 
formerly  fixed  there,  into  the  head  of  the  cork. 
This  will  support  the  bird's  head  admirably.  If 
you  wish  to  lengthen  the  neck,  raise  the  cork,  by 
putting  more  cotton  under  it.  If  the  head  is  to 
be  brought  forward,  bring  the  cork  nearer  to  the 
end  of  the  box.  If  it  requires  to  be  set  backwards 
on  the  shoulders,  move  back  the  cork. 

As  in  drying,  the  back-part  of  the  neck  will 
shrink  more  than  the  fore-part,  and  thus  throw 
the  beak  higher  than  you  wish  it  to  be,  putting 
you  in  mind  of  a  star-gazing  horse,  prevent  this 
fault,  by  tying  a  thread  to  the  beak,  and  fastening 
it  to  the  end  of  the  box  with  a  pin  or  needle.  If 
you  choose  to  elevate  the  wings,  do  so,  and  sup- 
port them  with  cotton;  and  should  you  wish  to 
have  them  particularly  high,  apply  a  little  stick 
under  each  wing,  and  fasten  the  end  of  them  to 
the  side  of  the  box  with  a  little  bees'  wax. 

If  you  would  have  the  tail  expanded,  reverse 
the  order  of  the  feathers,  beginning  from  the  two 
middle  ones.  Wlien  dry,  replace  them  in  their 
true  order,  and  the  tail  will  preserve  for  ever  the 


328    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

expansion  you  have  given  it.  Is  the  crest  to  be 
erect?  move  the  feathers  in  a  contrary  direction 
to  that  in  which  they  lie,  for  a  day  or  two,  and 
it  will  never  fall  down  after. 

Place  the  box  anywhere  in  your  room,  out  of 
the  influence  of  the  sun,  wind,  and  fire;  for  the 
specimen  must  dry  very  slowly,  if  you  wish  to 
reproduce  every  feature.  On  this  account  the  solu- 
tion of  corrosive  sublimate  is  uncommonly  service- 
able ;  for  at  the  same  time  that  it  totally  prevents 
putrefaction,  it  renders  the  skin  moist  and  flexible 
for  many  days.  While  the  bird  is  drying,  take  it 
out  and  replace  it  in  its  position  once  every  day. 
Then,  if  you  see  that  any  part  begins  to  shrink 
into  disproportion,  you  can  easily  remedy  it. 

The  small  covert  feathers  of  the  wings  are  apt 
to  rise  a  little,  because  the  skin  will  come  in  con- 
tact with  the  bone  which  remains  in  the  wing. 
Pull  gently  the  part  that  rises,  with  your  finger 
and  thumb,  for  a  day  or  two.  Press  the  feathers 
down.  The  skin  will  adhere  no  more  to  the  bone, 
and  they  will  cease  to  rise. 

Every  now  and  then  touch  and  retouch  all  the 
different  parts  of  the  features,  in  order  to  render 
them  distinct  and  visible,  correcting  at  the  same 
time  any  harshness,  or  unnatural  risings  or  sink- 
ings, flatness  or  rotundity.  This  is  putting  the 
last  finishing  hand  to  it. 

In  three  or  four  days  the  feet  lose  their  natural 
elasticity,  and  the  knees  begin  to  stiffen.  When 
you  observe  this,  it  is  time  to  give  the  legs  any 
angle  you  wish,  and  arrange  the  toes  for  a  stand- 
ing position,  or  curve  them  to  your  finger.  If 
you  wish  to  set  the  bird  on  a  branch,  bore  a  little 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA    329 

hole  under  each  foot,  a  little  way  up  the  leg;  and 
having  fixed  two  proportional  spikes  on  the 
branch,  you  can,  in  a  moment,  transfer  the  bird 
from  your  finger  to  it,  and  from  it  to  your  finger, 
at  pleasure. 

When  the  bird  is  quite  dry,  pull  the  thread  out 
of  the  knees,  take  away  the  needle,  &c.,  from  under 
the  bill,  and  all  is  done.  In  lieu  of  being  stiff 
with  wires,  the  cotton  will  have  given  a  consid- 
erable elasticity  to  every  part  of  your  bird;  so 
that,  when  perching  on  your  finger,  if  you  press 
it  down  with  the  other  hand,  it  will  rise  again. 
You  need  not  fear  that  your  hawk  will  alter,  or 
its  colours  fade.  The  alcohol  has  introduced  the 
sublimate  into  every  part  and  pore  of  the  skin, 
quite  to  the  roots  of  the  feathers.  Its  use  is  two- 
fold. 1st.  It  has  totally  prevented  all  tendency  to 
putrefaction ;  and  thus  a  sound  skin  has  attached 
itself  to  the  roots  of  the  feathers.  You  may  take 
hold  of  a  single  one,  and  from  it  suspend  five  times 
the  weight  of  the  bird.  You  may  jerk  it;  it  will 
still  adhere  to  the  skin,  and,  after  repeated  trials, 
often  break  short.  2dly.  As  no  part  of  the  skin 
has  escaped  recei\dng  particles  of  sublimate  con- 
tained in  the  alcohol,  there  is  not  a  spot  exposed 
to  the  depredation  of  insects,  for  they  will  never 
venture  to  attack  any  substance  which  has  re- 
ceived corrosive  sublimate. 

You  are  aware  that  corrosive  sublimate  is  the 
most  fatal  poison  to  insects  that  is  known.  It  is 
antiputrescent ;  so  is  alcohol;  and  they  are  both 
colourless;  of  course  they  cannot  leave  a  stain 
behind  them.  The  spirit  penetrates  the  pores 
of   the    skin    with   wonderful    velocity,    deposits 


330    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

invisible  particles  of  the  sublimate,  and  flies  off. 
The  sublimate  will  not  injure  the  skin,  and  noth- 
ing can  detach  it  from  the  parts  where  the  alcohol 
has  left  it.* 

Furs  of  animals,  immersed  in  this  solution,  will 
retain  their  pristine  brightness  and  durability  in 
any  climate. 

Take  the  finest  curled  feather  from  a  lady's 
head,  dip  it  in  the  solution,  and  shake  it  gently 
till  it  be  dry;  you  will  find  that  the  spirit  will 
fly  oif  in  a  few  minutes,  not  a  curl  in  the  feather 
will  be  injured,  and  the  sublimate  will  preserve 
it  from  the  depredation  of  the  insect. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  satisfactory  to  add  here, 
that,  some  years  ago,  I  did  a  bird  upon  this  plan 
in  Demerara.  It  remained  there  two  years.  It 
was  then  conveyed  to  England,  where  it  stayed 
five  months,  and  returned  to  Demerara.  After 
being  four  years  more  there,  it  was  conveyed  back 
again  through  the  West  Indies  to  England,  where 
it  has  now  been  near  five  years,  unfaded  and  un- 
changed. 

On  reflecting  that  this  bird  has  been  twice  in  the 
temperate  and  torrid  zone,  and  remained  some 
years  in  the  hot  and  humid  climate  of  Demerara, 
only  six  degrees  from  the  line,  and  where  almost 
everything  becomes  a  prey  to  the  insect,  and  that 
it  is  still  as  sound  and  bright  as  when  it  was  first 
done,  it  will  not  be  thought  extravagant  to  surmise 

*  All  the  feathers  require  to  be  touched  with  the  solution,  in  order 
that  they  may  be  preserved  from  the  depredation  of  the  moth. 
The  surest  way  of  proceeding  is,  to  immerse  the  bird  in  the  solu- 
tion of  corrosive  sublimate,  and  then  dry  it  before  you  begin  to 
dissect  it. 


WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA     331 

that  this  specimen  will  retain  its  pristine  form 
and  colours  for  years  after  the  hand  that  stuffed 
it  has  mouldered  into  dust. 

I  have  shown  this  art  to  the  naturalists  in 
Brazil,  Cayenne,  Demerara,  Oroonoque,  and 
Rome,  and  to  the  royal  cabinets  of  Turin  and 
Florence.  A  severe  accident  prevented  me  from 
communicating  it  to  the  cabinet  of  Paris,  accord- 
ing to  my  promise.  A  word  or  two  more,  and 
then  we  will  conclude. 

A  little  time  and  experience  will  enable  you  to 
produce  a  finished  specimen.  "Mox  similis 
volucri,  mox  vera  volucris."  If  your  early 
performance  should  not  correspond  with  your 
expectations,  do  not  let  that  cast  you  down.  You 
cannot  become  an  adept  all  at  once.  The  poor 
hawk  itself,  which  you  have  just  been  dissecting, 
waited  to  be  fledged  before  it  durst  rise  on  ex- 
panded pinion ;  and  had  parental  aid  and  frequent 
practice  ere  it  could  soar  with  safety  and  ease 
beyond  the  sight  of  man. 

Little  more  remains  to  be  added,  except  that 
what  has  been  penned  down  with  regard  to  birds 
may  be  applied,  in  some  measure,  to  serpents, 
insects,  and  four-footed  animals. 

Should  you  find  these  instructions  too  tedious, 
let  the  wish  to  give  you  every  information  plead 
in  their  defence.  They  might  have  been  shorter : 
but  Horace  says,  by  labouring  to  be  brief  you 
become  obscure. 

If,  by  their  means,  you  should  be  enabled  to 
procure  specimens  from  foreign  parts  in  better 
preservation  than  usual,  so  that  the  naturalist 
may  have  it  in  his  power  to  give  a  more  perfect 


332    WANDERINGS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

description  of  them  than  has  hitherto  been  the 
case;  should  they  cause  any  unknown  species  to 
be  brought  into  public  view,  and  thus  add  a  little 
more  to  the  page  of  natural  history,  it  will  please 
me  much.  But  should  they,  unfortunately,  tend 
to  cause  a  wanton  expense  of  life;  should  they 
tempt  you  to  shoot  the  pretty  songster  warbling 
near  your  door,  or  destroy  the  mother,  as  she  is 
sitting  on  the  nest  to  warm  her  little  ones;  or 
kill  the  father,  as  he  is  bringing  a  mouthful  of 
food  for  their  support; — oh,  then! — deep  indeed 
will  be  the  regret  that  I  ever  wrote  them. 
Adieu, 

Charles  Waterton. 


INDEX 


Aborigines,  31. 
Acaiari,   65,   203. 
Accident  to  foot,  174. 
Acouri,   49. 

Teeth  of,  84. 
Acoways,    201. 
Acuero,   82, 
^ta,  67,   68. 
Ague,    Tertian,    102. 
Ai,   90. 

Ai  killed  by  Wourali,  91. 
Albicore,   109. 
Alligator,   67. 
Anhingas,    163,   235. 
Ants,   77,   184. 

Coushie,    190. 

Nests  of,  69. 

Eanger,   190, 

Wood,   35. 
Ant-bears,  35,   185,  194,  238. 

Larg3,   35. 

Small,  35. 
Antidotes   to   Wourali,   93. 
Antigua,  286. 
Apourapotira,    57. 
Apron,    Indian,    203. 
Ara  humming-bird,   134. 
Ara,   Scarlet,   57,   70,   235,   297. 
Aras,  58,   69,  108,   155. 
Armadillo,   35,   192,  193. 
Arowacks,  201. 
Arrows,   86,   205. 

Wourali,    82. 
Arrowroot,    66. 


Balsam-capivi,  64. 
Banana,    188. 
Banks,    Sir    Joseph,    175. 
Barbadoes,  290. 


Bats,  41. 

Beetle,   Ehinoceros,   288. 

Bell-bird,  136. 

Bete-rouge,   41,   64,  199, 

Bill  of  Toucan,  138. 

Birds  of  Demerara,  37,   132, 

Bird-stuffing,    175,    315. 

Bird-vine,  51. 

Bisa,  35. 

Bittern,    156. 

Blackbirds,  120. 

Blow-pipe,  59,  82, 

Blue   Heron,   156. 

Boa   Constrictor,    194. 

Boat-bill,    156. 

Boclora,  143. 

Bois  Immortelles,  133. 

Bonito,   109. 

Bouradi,  137. 

Bows,  86,  205. 

Broadway,   278. 

Brown  Monkey,  35. 

Buflfalo  Town,  264. 

Buletre,  50. 

Bush-master,   39. 

Bush-rope,  33,  34,  51. 


Cabbage-tree,   46. 
Camoudi,  38. 
Camouni,   E.,   153. 
Campanero,   40,   136,  231. 
Canadians,  269. 
Canoe,  67. 

Capnmulgus,   57,   197. 
Capture  of  Cayman,   242, 
Caracara,  230. 
Caribs,  201. 
Cassava,  Bitter,  202, 

Sweet,   202. 
Cassiques,   145, 


333 


334 


INDEX 


Castor  oil,  173. 

Castries,  289. 

Cayenne,  124. 

Cayman,  39,  196,  233,  240. 

Back   of,   247. 

Capture   of,   242. 

Hook,  239. 

Noise  of,  233. 

Teeth  of,  247. 
Chameleon,  40. 
Chegoe,   200. 
Cinnamon,   124,  126. 
Climate  of  New  York,  281. 
Clove-tree,  124,  126. 
Cocoa-nut,  118. 

Cock  of  the  Eock,  59,  127,  309. 
Coffee-trees,  31. 
Coot,  163. 
Coral  Snake,  39. 
Corrosive    sublimate,    320. 
Cotton,  46. 
Cotingas,    108,   135. 

Pompadour,   135. 

Purple-breasted,    135. 

Purple-throated,    135. 

Scarlet,    134. 
Couanacouchi,  39,   78,   81. 
Coucourite,  68,  70,  83. 
Couguar,   237. 
Coulacanara,    215,   222. 
Courada-tree,   37. 
Coushie  Ant,  190. 
Crab,  295. 
Crabier,  37,  163. 
Crabwood,  48. 
Cranes,  163. 
Crickets,  41. 
Cuckoo,   289. 
Cuia,   144. 
Curial,   67. 
Curlews,  163. 
Curlew,   Black,   68. 

Scarlet,   37,   68,   124,   163. 
Custom-house   duties,   251. 
Cutlass  or  Machete,  34. 


Daddy  Quashi,  196. 
Dara,  136. 
Deer,  35,  68. 
Demerara,  128. 


Diamond  Rock,  289. 
Diet  and  raiment,   170. 
Dissecting,  Eequisites  for,   315. 
Divers,  106. 

Dog,      Experiment      on      with 
Wourali,    46. 
In  Guiana,   96. 
Dolphin,   109. 
Dominica,  287. 
Ducalabali,  32. 
Ducks,   163,   235. 
Duck,  Muscovy,  68,   156. 
Duraquara,  160. 
Duty  on  specimens,  252. 


E 


Eagles,  162,  277. 

Eagle,    White-headed,    277, 

Ebony,   32. 

Edmonstone,   Charles,    205, 

Egret,   37,   68,   124,   156. 

El  Dorado,   73. 

Emigrants,  Irish,   271. 

Escape   from   Spain,   16. 

Essequibo,   Falls  of,  56,   248. 

Eyes,  False,  326. 


Face  of  Country,  263. 
Falcons,   162. 
Falls,  47,  58. 

Essequibo,  56,  248. 
False  eyes,  326. 

Fever     at     Demerara,     Yellow, 
168, 

Severe   attack   of,    171. 
Fig,   Wild,   33,    135,    152. 
Finch,  Red-Beaded,   118,  235. 
Firefly,   42,   64. 
First  Journey,  29. 
Fish,  40. 

Fish,  Flying,  108. 
Flamingo,  37,   123,   163. 
Fly,  66. 

Sand,   41,  65. 
Flying  Fish,  108. 
Forest  on  banks  of  Demerara, 

30. 
Fort  St.  Joachim,  72. 
Fourth  Journey,  257. 


INDEX 


335 


Fowls,  Malay,  253. 
Fox,   35. 

Frigate  Pelican,    110,   123. 
Frogs,  41,  233,  288. 

G 

Gannets,  106. 
Geese,   163. 
George-town,  205. 
Goat,  37. 

Goatsuckers,   41,   156,  230,  233. 
Gobe-TDOuche,    127. 
Green-heart,    32,   50. 
Grosbeak,   scarlet,    294. 
Guadaloupe,   287. 
Guana,   35,   236. 
Nest  of,   236. 
Guava,  Wild,  135. 
Gulls,   106,   110,   163. 


H 


Habitations,  Indian,  45. 

Hackea,  32. 

Hannaquoi,   41,   42,   161. 

Hawks,  162,  224. 

Hayawa,  32,   44,   57,   203. 

Herons,   Blue,   156. 

Hia-hia   Parrot,    154. 

Hills,  56. 

Hitia,  135. 

Hocco,   161. 

Hog,  Wild,  35,   46,   49. 

Hook,   Cayman,    239. 

Horned    Screamer,    161. 

Hotels  in  JSTew  York,  280. 

Houtou,   41,   59,   142. 

Howler    Monkey,    35,    41,    238, 

300. 
Humming-birds,    37,    108,    132, 
288,   299. 

Ara,  134. 

Nests,  299. 
Huts,  Indian,  45. 


Indians,  Acoway,  201. 

Arowack,   201. 

Carib,  201. 

Macoushi,   58,    74,   201. 

Warow,   201. 

Eeligion   of,   201. 
Indian    apron,    203. 

Huts,  45. 

Tribes,  201. 
Insects,   40,   132. 
Instructions      to      adventurers, 

131. 
Irish   emigrants,  271. 


jABiRtr,  65,  66,  69,  163. 

Jacamar,  150,  292. 

Jaguar,   228,   233,   237,   241. 

Jay,  143. 

Jesuits   in   Pernambuco,   113. 

Journey,  first,  29. 

SECOND,    106. 
third,  168. 
FOURTH,    257. 
Jumbo,  158. 


Ibibirou,  143. 
India-rubber,   59,   310. 


Karabimiti,  134,  299. 
Kessi-kessi,    58,    70. 
King,   Savage,   62. 
King  Vulture,   37. 
Kingfisher,   150. 


Labarei,  39,  78,  81,  198. 

Poison  of,  199. 
Labba,  35,  49. 
Ladies,     American,     265,     273, 

278. 
La   Gabrielle,   125. 
La  Souffriere,  287. 
Lemon   trees,  118. 
Letter-wood,   32. 
Linnets,  118. 
Lizards,  39. 
Locust-tree,  32. 

M 

Maam,  41,  49,  57,  161. 
Macoushi  Indians,  58,  74,  84. 


336 


INDEX 


Manakins,   153. 
Maou,  E.,  70. 
Maribuntas,    197. 
Marigalante,  287. 
Maroudi,  41,  49,  84,   161. 

White-crested,    64. 
Martinico,  289. 
Matatoro,  38. 
Moca-moca,  147. 
Monkeys,  205,  300. 
Monkey,    Brown,   35. 

Flesh  of,  301. 

Eed,  35,  41,  238,  300. 
Monteiro,    120. 

Mora,  32,  33,  50,  63,  223,  230. 
Moran,  64. 
Mosquitos,   41,   64. 
Mother    Carey's    chicken,    106. 
Muscovy  Duck,  68,  156. 

N 

Nandapoa,   163. 
Negroes,  Eunaway,  205. 
New   York,   278. 

Climate  of,  281. 

Hotels,   280. 

Streets   of,    278. 
Niagara,    264,    267. 
Nondescript,    302. 
Nutmeg,   124,   126. 

O 

Objects  of  Wanderings,   29. 

Olou,  32. 

Opossum,  35. 

Orange  trees,  118. 

Otters,  40. 

Ourah,  82. 

Owl,   41,  43,  233,  295. 

Ox  killed  by  Wourali,  92. 


Pacou,  58,  229. 
Palms,  118. 
Papaw,  46,  202. 
Paramaribo,   127. 
Parima,  60,  68,  73. 
Paroquets,  41,  58,  70,  154,  222. 
Parrots,  41,  154,  205,  235. 
Parrot,  Hia-hia,   154. 


Partridge,    160. 
Pataca,  41. 
Peccari,   35. 
Pee-ay-man,  204. 
Pegalls,  205. 
Pelican,  37,  163. 

Frigate,   110,   123. 
Pepper,   78,   124,   126,   202. 
Pernambuco,    110. 

Jesuits  in,   113. 

Port  of.   111. 
Petrel,  Stormy,  106. 
Phaeton,  123. 
Philadelphia,    275. 

Museum  at,  275. 
Piapoco,  137. 
Pine-apples,  202. 
Pi-pi-yo,  40,  214. 
Pirai,  59,  83. 
Pirarara,   E.,   70. 
Piwarri,   203. 
Plantains,    202. 

Plantations   of   Stabroek,   129. 
PloTer,  37,  163. 

Spur-winged,  68. 
Polecat,  35. 
Porcupine,    36. 
Potato,  Sweet,  202. 
Powises,   49,  84,   161. 
Purple-breasted     Cotinga,     135. 
Purple-throated    Cotinga,    135. 
Purple-heart,   50,   67. 


Quadrupeds,  35. 
Quail,  161. 
Quake,   129. 
Quebec,   271. 


Juiver,    84. 


R 


Rails,  163. 

Raiment    and   diet,    170. 

Rattlesnake,  38,   121. 

Adventure  with,  121. 
Rajiids   of  Essequibo,   56. 
Ray,  Sting,  235. 
Recluse,  White,  60. 
Red-headed    Finch,    118. 
Red-headed    Woodpecker,    173. 


INDEX 


337 


Red  Monkey,  35,  41,  238,  300. 

Bed  Start,  287. 

Remarks  on  First  Journey,  99. 

Rhinoceros  Beetle,  288. 

Rice  Bird,  145. 

Roseau,  287. 

Roucou,  203. 

Runaway    negroes,    205. 


Saba,  31. 
Sage,  red,  133. 
Saintes,  287. 
Salempenta,   35. 
Samourah,  82. 
Sandflies,  41,  64. 
Sandpiper,  37,  163. 
Sangre  do  Buey,   118. 
Saratoga,  272. 
Savage  King,  62. 
Savanna,  63. 
Sawari,  50,  188. 
Scarlet  Ara,  57,  235. 
Curlews,  163. 
Grosbeak,   294. 
Scenery,   229,   259. 
Scirou,   137. 

Screamer,   Horned,   161. 
Second  Journey,  106 
Sharks,  110,  122. 
Shrikes,  162. 
Silk-grass,  82,  83,  202. 
Siloabali,   50,   135. 

Bastard,  135,  143. 
Siparouni,  58. 
Sir  Joseph  Banks,  175. 
Slavery,  130,  290. 
Sloth,   36,   176,   194,   293. 
Habits  of,  176. 
Killed  by  Wourali,  90. 
Two-toed,  182. 
Three-toed,  293. 
Snakes,  38,  132,  198,  214 
Snipes,  163. 
Soil,  32. 
Sounds,  strange,  48. 

Explanation  of,  101. 
Spikes  for  arrows,  87. 
Spoonbill,  37,  124,  163 
Spur-winged  Plover,  68. 
Stabroek,   128. 


Sting-ray,  235. 

St.  Joachim,  Fort,  70,  72. 

St.  John's,  Antigua,  286. 

St.  Lucie,  290. 

Storm,  100. 

Stormy   Petrel,    106. 

Strange  sounds,   48. 

Explanation   of,   101. 
St.   Thomas's  Tower,   101. 
Stuffing,  Bird,  175,  315. 

Materials  for,  315. 
Sun-bird,  235,  295. 

T 

Tacatou,  R.,  70. 
Tangara,   119. 
Tapir,  35,  46,  70. 
Tauronira,  50,  51. 
Taxidermy,  315. 
Tertian  ague,  102. 
Third  Journey,  168. 
Thrush,  42,   118. 
Ticks,  201. 
Ticonderoga,  272. 
Tiger,   35,  37,  132,  232. 
Bird,  153. 
Oats,  35. 
Tinamous,  40,  49,  57. 
Great,  296. 
Small,  296. 

Tirana,  235. 

Tortoise,  Land,  194,  232. 

Toucan,  32,  69,  108,  137. 
Bill  of,  138. 

Tribes,  Indian,  201. 

Troely,  42. 

Tropic  Bird,  110. 

Troupials,  70,   118,   151. 

Troy,  273. 

Trumpeter,  161. 

Turtle,  Nest  of,  235. 

U 

XiNA-WATA-ADOUCATI,   293 


Vampire,  38,  41,  188,  192,  297. 

Teeth  of,  298. 
Vanilla,  196. 


338 


INDEX 


Vines,  33. 

Vine,  Wourali,  77. 

Vulture,  Aura,   224. 

Common,  37,   66,   162,  223. 

Beak  of,  223. 

King,  37,  223. 

W 

Wallaba,  50,  51,  297. 

Wallababa,  135. 

Wanderings,  Objects  of,  29. 

Waracaba,  49,  84,  161. 

Warows,  201. 

Wasps,  197. 

Water-hen,    Spur-winged,    156. 

Watermamma,    61. 

Wax,  82,  83. 

Weeds    34. 

' '  Whip-poor-will, ' '    43,  57, 158. 

Whipsnake,  39. 

White-headed  Eagle,  277. 

White  Kecluse,  60. 

"  Who-are-you, "   158,  230. 

Wild  beasts,  198. 

Hogs,  88,  211. 

Man,  44. 


"  Willy-come-go, "  43,  158,  230. 
Wood  Ants,  35. 
Woodpeckers,   148. 

Eed-headed,   50,   173. 
Woodskins,   67. 
"Work-away,"   158. 
Wourali,  46,  58,  60,  69,  74,  90. 
Antidotes,  93. 
Experiment  on  Ai,  90. 
Ass,    102. 
Dog,  46. 
Ox,  92. 
Sloth,   90. 
Preparation   of,   77 
Strength  of,  46. 
Vine,  77. 
Wouralia,   103. 
Wren,  42,  57,  118. 


Yabahou,  79,  158. 
Yams,  202. 
Yawaraciris,  153. 
Yellow-fever  at  Demerara,  168. 


.,> 


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